Building a Life
by quonoeye
Summary: Temperance Brennan has been left alone by the only ones she can trust and is left broken. What happens when she meets the one person who can put her back together and she can trust unconditionally? High-School fic
1. Prologue

_December 1991_

Temperance Brennan had grown up in a typical family. For the first fifteen year of her life she had a mother, father and a brother. They acted like a normal family would, get along most of the time, but still argue about normal family things. She and her brother had a normal relationship, she admired him and he would look out for her. Often he was one of the only people she could depend on, regardless of whether she hated him that day or not.

Her mother and father were typical parents too. Normal jobs a science teacher and a bookkeeper, and always had time to love and care for their children. Temperance knew her parents loved her and would always protect her. Her family would go out together for picnics, or out somewhere just to enjoy being together as a family. She and her mother shared a love for dolphins, which from the outside may looked unimportant, but to them was a special bond between them.

Temperance had all she could ever want, a loving family. She didn't care that she had barely any friends at school or that people thought she was weird because she was smart and loved to read. She was able to enjoy her life just knowing that her family would always be there to love her and help her overcome any obstacle she would face. Or that's what she thought until that day.

Starting off typically, it was a weekend so no school for her or work for her parents. Usually weekends were the times where they would do things as a family. If that morning she was told that by the end of the day, her life would have changed, she wouldn't have it. The day started off as it normally would, she woke up, went to the kitchen and found her parents drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. They were acting like they normally would any other day. The rest of the day was uneventful, with Temperance spending most of the time reading or doing her homework.

She thought nothing of it when her parents left for the shops late in the afternoon. It was getting closer to Christmas, so she guessed they were doing last-minute shopping for then. They waved her goodbye and said they would be back later. Little did she know that this would be the last time she would ever see them again. When her parents hadn't arrived home after several hours she thought they must have gotten caught up talking to someone they knew. When the night was turning into day and they hadn't returned she began to panic. Hours turned into days, with still no word from them.

When Christmas rolled around, her brother Russ thought he was doing the right thing by making Christmas for his sister. His plan back-fired which saw him leave before New Years. Temperance began the New Year with a social worker picking her up from her house, telling her to pack only what she really needed or wanted. The only personal sentiments she had were her un-opened Christmas presents, a few pieces of her mother's jewelry, as many photos as she could find and her favourite books. She was given a garbage bag to fill with those items and clothes and was then forced to leave her childhood home.

She was alone and unwanted. She was placed in a group home, where she was extremely uncomfortable, partly due to her lack of social skills and the fact that she knew that wasn't where she wanted to be. After many weeks in the group home she was placed with a foster family, a young couple who were only in their twenties. At first she thought it would be easier to be away from the other children, but she knew she didn't want another new environment. She had already lost her trust in everyone, she felt as if no one cared about what happened to her at all. All she was waiting for was someone she could trust, without having to analyze whether or not they cared about her.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She had been at Brett and Samantha Smith's for a week now. The first day they were pleasant enough, she had her own room which she retreated to for most of the day. After hearing horror stores from other children at the group home, she had been wary when she had been told by a social worker that they had found a family for her. She hated that the social worker had said 'found a family for you' as if this was to replace her old one, as f it was that simple.

Anyway they treated her well for the first couple of days, but she noticed by the fourth day she noticed she acted like a slave for them. Brett was constantly getting her to do something around the house, and treating without any respect at all. She had learnt on that fourth day to just do as he said or she would suffer the consequences. She had received the first slap that day and she noticed his wife received the exact same treatment, when she tried to stand up to him.

The next few days passed slowly, and she hung out for the day she would start school, at least she could escape him for eight hours of the day. She had been enrolled in the local high school and surprisingly she was able to choose classes that contributed to her goal. Because her father was a science teacher she had grown up in an environment where science was a big influence on her. She had known for the last few years that her ultimate goal was to become a forensic anthropologist and she hoped given her abnormally high I.Q, that she wouldn't have trouble aspiring to that. When she woke up the morning of her first day she was relieved that the day had finally come.

"Temperance, come on you don't want to be late for your first day of school do you? So wake up and get ready," she heard Brett's voice outside her door and could imagine the smug look on his face, she did what he said because she didn't want there to be any reasons for him to do anything.

When she arrived in the kitchen she was fully dressed and ready, so that when she had gulfed down her breakfast she could leave immediately. She saw Brett in the living room doing nothing as usual and watching TV. Samantha was cooking him breakfast like he usually ordered her to do every morning. Sam gave her a small smile, which was mainly the only acknowledgement she got from her. Temperance quickly got some cereal for breakfast and proceeded to eat it as fast as she could.

When Brett stepped into the kitchen she was thankful she had finished. She cleaned up her mess and quickly grabbed her bag to leave. When she walked past him, he discreetly banged her into the wall, just to show her who was boss. She tried not to wince, because she knew that would only provoke more. She rushed out of the house and slowly made her way to school. She was over an hour early, but knew she would take any chance to get out of that house, even if it meant her waiting around for half an hour before the school actually opened.

* * *

At her old school, even though she didn't have many friends, no one would hassle her for being a nerd or a loner, because she had her big brother Russ always looking out for her and protecting her. She now had no body. The only people she knew in the whole state were her foster parents Brett and Sam, who weren't the nicest people you could meet. As the bell rang to indicate the start of the day she rushed inside the building to find her classes.

After her first class, she had already made more enemies then friends. She knew from her appearance and town gossip that every student knew she was a foster kid and obviously had no family. It didn't help her at all that she loved her schoolwork and had a genius level IQ. She already knew she struggled in social situations, which made it even harder to relate to her peers.

Eventually lunch arrived and she was able to momentarily escape all her classmates and retreat to somewhere where she would be alone and away from the whispering. She found the most secluded area in the school and proceeded to eat quickly and read which was the only thing that would help her escape the world.

After a few minutes she heard footsteps approaching her table and assumed they would be more jocks and cheerleaders, there to poke fun at her. She briefly looked up and saw about five boys, who were probably seniors coming in her direction. She looked back down and decided to ignore them, if only it was that easy.

"So, why are you here? Did mommy and daddy leave you because they realised what a freak you are?" one of the boys asked.

"Or did they return to the mother ship and leave you behind," another commented which erupted laughter amongst the group, she knew what these types of boys were like, it wasn't that she hadn't encountered them before, but thanks to Russ it used to be rare. She continued to ignore them as they made further insulting comments. She hadn't realised they had stopped until she heard a new voice.

"Daniel is there a problem here?" the voice asked, Temperance looked up and noticed a new boy had joined the group. He was tall, handsome, everything a girl could want in a guy.

"No, man, just 'introducing' ourselves to the new girl," the leader of the group said while the other boys snickered.

"Well, I think you've introduced yourself enough, maybe you could find someone else to bother," he said intimidating the group of guys.

"Yeah, sure, we were just leaving, right," the leader said motioning for them to leave. After they left the boy sat down opposite her and was silent for a few minutes.

"I hope they weren't hassling you too much," he said speaking to her for the first time.

"No, I find ignoring them is the best," she said looking up at him.

"So, what's your name?" he asked.

"What's it to you?" she asked him.

"Well, I thought it would be polite to have a name to associate to the face, instead of the beautiful, new girl," he said flashing her a heart melting smile.

"Brennan," she replied.

"First name or last?" he asked unsure.

"Last, I hate my first name," she said.

"There we go we already have something in common, I hate my first name too, name's Booth by the way," he said holding out his hand, she hesitantly shook it.

"Don't I get a first name?" she asked.

"Not until you tell me yours," he replied standing up to leave. "Well, Brennan, I hope to see you around," he said before flashing her another charm smile and walking off. Brennan sat there frozen for a few minutes and could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She hoped she saw him again; maybe he would be one person who wouldn't think she was a freak. But, she knew that definitely wouldn't be the case, he was one of _those_ guys and knew he would show no interest in her at all, friendship or otherwise.


	3. Chapter 2

**I have gotten many alerts for this story, but sadly no reviews yet. So, if those who have alerted this really want to see more, please review, I want to know what people liked or disliked, please. One word reviews are fine as long as I get them, and they will make updates come faster. Please enjoy this and don't forget to review :)**

Chapter 2

Seeley Booth had a pretty easy life when looked in from the outside. He was the most popular senior in the school; he was a star basketballer and didn't do too badly with the ladies. In everyone else's opinion he had the ultimate life, if only they really saw what it was like. Booth lived in a normal suburban house with his father, mother and brother. His mother wrote jingles for local agencies and his father was a war vet, pretty standard life.

But, what the rest of the world saw was the real pain that was involved in his life. His father was an alcoholic and would come home on many occasions drunk. He became violent and took out anger on his wife and children. Seeley was older than his brother Jarred so he felt the urge to take the nightly bashings from his father. He protected his brother and as he got older tried to protect his mother as much as he could. His life was a shithole and on many occasions he saw how easy it would be to end all his suffering, luckily he always remembered what could happen to his mother and brother if he was out of the picture.

His only solace was when he escaped during the night often fleeing the house at ungodly hours, roaming the streets just to escape it all. Luckily he had faith, in God, which helped him pull through most of the time. His friends had absolutely no idea of the real occurrences of his home life. They all assumed that he had it all; they thought he was the luckiest guy ever; he got all the attention, all the girls and did hardly anything to get it. Seeley often thought that if he could he would gladly swap the popularity and attention if he meant he wasn't scared every night wondering if his father would come home that night or what he would do.

Sure he had his friends and people to admire him but he never had anyone he could talk to and let out all his problems. He had no one that would understand what he was going through or anyone who would take the time to listen. He couldn't go to teachers because he knew as soon as they got wind of it all, the authorities would be told and after being told numerous times by his mother, he didn't want his father put away. He knew he deserved to be punished but had promised his mother and he didn't want to cause her anymore pain.

So now Booth was lying in a park, at two o'clock in the morning reflecting on the happenings of the day. It was the first day of the school for the New Year, so time was spent catching up with friends who had gone away over the Christmas break. A new year had officially started and he was determined that it would be better than the last. Already his grades were poor due to his family problems and knew if he wanted to do anything in life that he would have to try harder.

The day was typical; he was followed around by usual crowd, the people who had nothing better to do than be his constant shadow. Although he knew he was the most popular guy in the school he didn't feel the need to use that to his advantage. He didn't want to be seen as the guy who did mean things to other people and get away with it because of his popularity status. He would be happy to play basketball, which he loved and was his outlet, and not constantly be expected to bask in all the glory.

Others didn't understand it but he always felt the need to protect or defend people from 'bullies'. From personal experience with his own father he knew what it felt like to be victimized and preyed upon and he didn't want anyone to go through that if he could help it. He had worked out that 'the gang' as they were commonly referred to would seek out the newbie's or those who were different.

That day he had seen them harassing a new girl. She was a few years younger than him and looked like she could use a hand. What surprised him was that when he got rid of them she didn't overly thank him, like most people did; she told him she was handling it and didn't say anything else. He realised she was different, but in a good way. When she had looked at him he noticed her beauty. It wasn't an over-powering, demanding beauty which he often saw on girls, but one that unless was really looked at was hidden.

He noticed her eyes, the most beautiful he had ever seen. He felt as if she was someone he could relate to, who he could talk to and not be judged. She looked broken, like traumatic had occurred and she just wanted to hide away. He was already determined he wanted to be-friend her, he knew his peers would think it was weird that he would want to talk to her, but he knew there was more to her that he desperately wanted to find out. He lay on the wet grass in the early hours of the morning and made it his goal that that day he would talk to her and show her someone wanted to know her and not hassle her. He was also determined to find out a first name to match her last, one to come before Brennan.


	4. Chapter 3

****

Thanks so much for the reviews, they are fantastic. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy and please review :)

Chapter 3

Temperance arrived home from school that day, feeling the happiest she had felt since moving to the Smith house. She had been hesitant about starting at a new school, mainly because it was easy for teenagers to hunt out a foster kid. Despite her best efforts to avoid the stares and the snide comments, they were present but ignoring them eventually made them stop. She had already found a secluded, private area in the school, which would guarantee her, most of the time, no interruptions.

As soon as she got home she avoided Samantha, who was watching something trashy on TV, and raced upstairs to her room. When she was away from everything she began to work on her homework, which she found relaxing and oddly therapeutic. She had already memorized the times that Brett would arrive home so she could avoid him as much as possible. She had already learned the hard way that when he did arrive home from work he was usually in a foul mood, and would take it out on the closest thing available.

She used the time of peace and quiet to her advantage and managed to finish every piece of work she had received that day. For as long as she could remember she loved school, she would always do all her homework as soon as she arrived home from school. After that she had free time to do whatever she wanted, which was often spent helping her mother or spending time with her brother. She had very few friends, all of whom were just as academically minded as her.

She had learned since her parents left that there were things you shouldn't take for granted. She used to think, because she had limited friends that she was lower then others, but through her experiences since, she had come to realise that it was quality rather than quantity. She also used to think that her brother looking out for her constantly was a burden, but know knew that without him there always caring what was happening with her, showed that she was loved. She now craved to feel like that, to know that someone actually worried about her.

A loud 'bang' pulled her out of her thoughts, and she realised the sound signalled that Brett was home. Eventually he would come to find her to do something, but for know she enjoyed being alone. It wasn't long before she heard his footsteps getting closer and closer. Soon he was right outside her door, and was knocking on the door loudly, before letting himself in. He walked over to where Temperance was sitting and grabbed her arm, pulling her up.

"What do you think you are doing in here? You should be downstairs doing the housework, did you really think we would take you in and let you sit around and do nothing?" Brett bellowed, inches away from her face. She didn't speak; she only tried to loosen his grip on her arm and made her way out of her room. When she was approaching the stairs, he was unsatisfied at the pace she was going and pushed her down the stairs. She tumbled and landed on her back, she could already tell she would have bruises showing up at any time.

When she entered the living room, slightly limping, she noticed Samantha still on the couch, but now with a large hand mark across her face. She had already gotten use to the fact that once he had finished beating his wife, she was next and she got the full force. Quickly and as quietly as she could, Temperance completed the chores that Brett had demanded of her and chose to to wait in her room until dinner was ready. She was very tempted to skip dinner altogether, but knew if that she did that Brett would have another reason to hit her.

Dinner was pretty standard, meat and vegetables. Temperance tried to eat as quickly as she could, so she could retreat to her room as soon as possible. She noticed that Brett had started his drinking for the evening and knew it would be a long night trying to avoid him. After she had cleaned up the mess from dinner, she once again returned to her room. Her foster parents often went to bed early and she had figured out a way to escape her window without waking them.

After she had concluded that they were both sound asleep, she stared her nightly routine. Every night she would climb out of her window, very quietly and enjoy a little bit of freedom. Her nightly ventures often led her to a nearby park, where she would be able to think and take in the world around her. She found that when she escaped she felt slightly better knowing, she was away from them, even if it was for a few hours.

While walking through the park aimlessly she remembered the events of that day. She particularly thought of the only person, other than a teacher, that had spoken to her without a rude comment or remark. Although she had indicated to him that she didn't need his help, it lifted her spirits to know that he came to help. Even though this was a nice gesture on his part, she told herself not to get excited about it, because in her experience he was one of _those_ people, who always had a hidden agenda.

* * *

Seeley Booth had been beaten twice in one night. As per usual his father had arrived home drunk and ready to hit the first person he saw. That day it had been his wife, mainly because she hadn't had dinner ready for him but also because he knew she wouldn't fight back. Seeley had quickly noticed his father's intentions and had stepped in front of his mother and received the force of his fathers beating. Later that night he had taken a punch for his brother, Jared, who had angered their father by leaving a game in his way.

Now Booth was wandering the streets, clearing his head and avoiding his fathers rage. He walked for a few minutes in the same direction, when he noticed a figure in the park ahead. When he got closer he saw that it was the girl he had seen earlier at school that day. It was late and he knew the right thing to do would be to check on her and make sure everything was ok. She was lost in thought so she didn't notice him coming up behind her, so Booth defiantly took her by surprise.

"Hi," he said in her ear, which caused her to jump and nearly belt him. When she saw his face she lowered her hand slightly.

"What the hell did you do that for? You could have been an axe murderer? And what are you doing out here at this time of night?" she asked accusingly.

"Well, firstly if I _was _an axe murderer, don't you think I would grab you without the pleasantries? And secondly I could ask you the same thing," he said smirking.

"It's none of your business why I am out here," she said beginning to walk back the way she came.

"Well, I thought I would enjoy the fresh air and prey on unsuspecting girls," he said laughing.

"That's not funny, you know," she stopped walking and shot him a deadly glare. She then turned around again and continued walking, hoping he would leave her alone. Unfortunately for her he followed her and wasn't indicating that he would stop. After walking for a few minutes she was irritated and turned to him questionably.

"Why are you following me, first you think I can't handle a few immature boys, but now I can't walk home without you?" she asked him, he shrugged.

"I just thought you would like my company," he told her waiting for her response.

"Well, I don't need you, so please leave," she said getting annoyed with him. He just smiled at her and acted innocently.

"Are you going to be in the same spot tomorrow, as you were today?" he asked hoping that tomorrow she may talk to him.

"What's it to you?" she asked unsure of what his intentions were.

"Just a question, anyway you have made it clear that you don't need my company, so I will see you tomorrow," he said shooting her a charm smile and disappearing into the darkness. He was intrigued by this girl. Usually he would go for the blonde cheerleader type, but there was something about her that made him curious. He had a gut feeling that there was more to her than meets the eye and that he might have more in common with her than he thought. He planned to find her again tomorrow at school and hopefully at east learn her fist name and hopefully see if her nightly outings were a regular occurrence.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She was unsure about how to take him. He looked like one of the guys who would use you and pass you off as another of his conquests. But last night when she had seen him, he seemed different. When he talked to her he looked in her eyes, instead of at her physical attributes. It also seemed as if he purely wanted to talk to her without any underlying reason. When she had woken this morning she felt slightly happier at the thoughts of possibly seeing him again. But her rational thinking put an end to that when she reminded herself he was one of _those_ guys.

The morning proceeded as it had the day before. She went to the kitchen for breakfast and was knocked into the wall by Brett. She then quickly ate her breakfast and got out of that house as quickly as she could. Her school was about 10 minutes away from the house, so if she walked at a normal pace she would be there about 20 minutes early. When she arrived at the school she was the only one there, so she decided to sit outside and read.

Reading was an outlet for her. It pulled her out of her horrible reality and pulled her into a world of fiction, where nearly anything was possible. She would become so engrossed in the story that she would totally forget about the world around her. Nothing else would matter and she would not be worried about what was happening in her life, it was like time stopped at that moment, it was when she felt pure happiness. When she was a few chapters into her book she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hello, again," the voice said and she immediately identified it as Booth's voice. She turned around and saw him standing, smiling at her.

"Are you stalking me or something, because it sure feels like that?" she said not waiting for his answer and turning her attention back to her book.

"It may seem like that, but you just happen to be there every time I look up," he said sitting down beside her. She tried to ignore him next to her, but after a few minutes she could feel him staring at her and she became very pissed off with him.

"WHY, are you sitting here? Is it for fun? Or do you just want to annoy the hell out of me?" Brennan asked him standing up to try and get away from him.

"I was just being nice, isn't that what people are supposed to be doing to one another," Booth said getting agitated with this girl who apparently couldn't accept a nice gesture from anyone. She didn't reply to him, instead she walked off and into the building, leaving him standing there.

* * *

She was rude, unappreciative and a pain in the ass, and he had only known her for two days. But regardless of what he knew, he couldn't seem to get her off his mind. She was different; he knew that much and he hadn't ever encountered anyone like her, which made him unsettled. The night before after parting ways in the park, all he could think about was how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. Granted it didn't make her any less annoying or irritating, but she looked peaceful, and not as uptight as she seemed at school.

He wondered that morning in class, why she acted that way towards him. Any other girl would fall at his feet and worship the ground he walked on. He decided to find her at lunch and try to get something out of her, to gage whether she really disliked him or if she acted this way towards everyone.

When he spotted her in the same spot she was yesterday and noticed she was reading the same book he saw her with that morning. He also noticed she hadn't eaten anything, so he decided this could be something he could ask about. As he got closer to her, he noticed she looked up for a moment and saw him approaching. A scowl appeared on her face and she looked back down at her book adamant to ignore him.

"Why are you being like that?" he asked referring to her facial expression and body language.

"Being like what?" she asked innocently.

"You are being rude and ignoring me, when I have done nothing but nice things for you," he said getting irritated by her.

"Maybe you should take the hint and get that I don't like you and you can just leave me alone," she said staring at him in the eye.

"Why don't you like me?" he asked curiously.

"Because you are just the same as every other guy, act all chivalrous towards girls, then take advantage of them and they end up being another one of your meaningless conquests," she replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

"That's it is it, you think just because I am a 'jock' and have quite a number of friends, I act the same way the others do," he said.

"Well, yes, it is clear from many of the looks you get from the cheerleaders, that I am right in my assumption," she told him before beginning to read again. He stood there baffled at her thoughts and wondered if this was the persona he really gave off to people. It was clear she had seen this being true and obviously thought she was correct in all cases. Before he left he leaned over the table she was sitting on and told her something,

"Well, although you may not believe it, I am not like most guys, I care about everyone and I certainly don't treat girls like that," he then straightened up and walked away from her table, then he added as an afterthought, "by the way you should really eat something, not all guys like girls who live off celery sticks." He saw a puzzled look on her face and realised he had achieved what he had wanted, make her think. He then decided he was going to prove to her that not all guys were jerks and that there were exceptions to the 'rule'.


	6. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter. I am going on holidays tomorrow for three weeks, so no updates will come before then. Please review if you are reading this, because no reviews doesn't offer any encouragement. Hope you enjoy and would really love to see reviews, it's really not that hard to press the button :D**

Chapter 5

For a week Booth continued to try and get information out of Brennan, but was unsuccessful. She would either get angry at him or ignore him and would stonewall every question he asked. He asked her where she lived, things about her family, what she liked to do in her free time, but she was always adamant not to give away any information. He knew she was hiding something good, or bad, he wasn't sure, but he knew it was important.

Even though he didn't want to give up it became clear that it was fast becoming his only option. She would sometimes let him sit with her if he was silent, but the minute he started to talk she would make him go away. His situation with her was terrible, and his home life was fast becoming worse. His father got drunk every single night which meant bruises were appearing daily. He had thought more and more lately about getting away from there, to leave and not come back, but those thoughts were always pushed aside when he remembered who he was leaving behind.

He had decided that if after today he didn't get anything out of Brennan, he would stop trying. He didn't want to give up but, it was obvious she wasn't going to tell him anything and he thought it was only fair if he stopped and let her be. He went for a walk that night after not getting her to talk at school; he secretly hoped that he would see her on his walk. After about an hour he noticed her in the distance, she was sitting on a park bench, hunched over. She heard him coming and turned her head; as he got closer he noticed that she had been crying.

"Hey what's wrong?" he asked her sounding concerned, she quickly looked away from him when he spoke.

"Nothing," she answered quickly trying to wipe away evidence that she had cried.

"It isn't nothing or you wouldn't be sitting out here alone, crying," he said as he moved to sit next to her.

"Really, it's stupid and doesn't matter," she said starting to stand up to leave, but was stop by his hand pulling her down. When she was seated again he put his arm around her shoulders and noticed she flinched. But this wasn't the usual way she flinched when he was near her; it was like she was in pain.

"Why did you flinch?" he asked trying to get to keep eye contact with her.

"Like I said it's nothing…" she started, but stopped when he pulled the right side of her shirt and exposed her right shoulder. She knew he saw them and that he knew what they were. His eyes were filled with anger, she didn't understand why.

"Who did this to you?" he asked softly at first. She tried hard to ignore him and hoped he wouldn't care but she knew he wouldn't let it go, "WHO did this to you?" he demanded. The tone of his voice had changed dramatically.

"My foster father," she answered in a whisper, wishing she hadn't told him. He looked at the bruises and marks in disgust.

"Is this the only one?" Booth asked his voice softening so he wouldn't scare her. She began to nod but then shook her head; he would know she was lying. Carefully she slightly lifted up her shirt. He saw bruises all over her abdomen and back, some more recent than others.

"Why does he do this to you?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders, because in all honesty she didn't have an answer, "Why are you in foster care?" she remained quiet and didn't divulge anything. He realised that he had to tell her something.

"I know what you are going thorough," he said. She looked at him questioningly; he then showed her his back which was covered in cuts and bruises. He quickly turned back to face her and noticed she had started crying.

"Who did that to you?" she asked in between sobs.

"My father," he answered and before she asked he told her, "He's an alcoholic," she nodded at his response and began to wipe her eyes again. "So again, why are you in foster care?" he asked.

Brennan told him about her parents and her brother. For some reason after he showed her his scars she felt more inclined to open up to him. _Maybe he is different than the others, _she thought while she told him. He sat listening without interrupting her and was beginning to understand her behaviour. When she finished there were fresh tears in her eyes, as they fell he reached up and was wiping them away with his thumb. He then hugged her carefully, as not to cause her more pain.

"I am so sorry, you shouldn't have to be put through that," he said sincerely, as she placed her arms around him. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, both processing what had happened. They pulled back from the hug and smiled at each other, knowing they had found a new understanding for each other.

"So after all that can you tell me your first name?" Booth asked.

"Temperance," she replied.

"That's a beautiful name," he said before they parted ways for the evening.


	7. Chapter 6

**Firstly thanks so much for the reviews :) Secondly sorry about the wait. I got back from holidays a week or so ago and was then greeted by holiday homework and school books I had to read. I have the next chapter pretty much planned out and hope to have it up in the next day or two. Please review and let me know what you think. Enjoy :D**

Chapter 6

After that night they both silently agreed not to mention it, both knowing it was painful for the other to talk about. From that day Brennan didn't ignore Booth or reject him, she had realised that he did understand what she was going through and didn't judge her for it. She had begun talking to him on a regular basis and was glad to finally have someone in the school that she could consider a friend. Booth still came nearly every day at lunch to sit with her even if they both sat in silence the whole time.

Booth had slowly been trying to prove to her that he was different; he had managed to convince her of that the night they really connected. They were becoming closer and closer each day that passed. Although they exchanged very few words they always felt comfortable in each others presence. They met up every night in the park, both hiding from the same thing. It was then that they were the most talkative; they were away from prying eyes and didn't feel as if everyone was judging them.

A couple of weeks after the confessions, Temperance was quietly sneaking out of her window to meet at the park. She loved that they had a routine and they had yet to be caught out. That particular night it was rather windy outside. When she opened her window a sudden gust of wind came and slammed the window shut. The noise was loud enough to wake the whole house. It only took a few minutes for Brett to arrive at her room; he nearly broke down the door entering.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded striding over to where she was standing near the window.

"No…nothing," she stammered out, her heat was pounding in her chest, and she couldn't remember ever being more terrified.

"Don't pull out that 'nothing' crap on me, I know exactly what you were doing," he partially yelled. By this point Brett was towering over her, trying to be as intimidating as possible. Before she could react Brett had lifted his hand and slapped her across the face. The first hit was open-handed, but apparently that wasn't enough for him and he came back with a fist and punched her in the eye. He then pushed her into the wall and kicked her a few times to scare her, and then he left without a word.

When Temperance was sure he was gone she slowly slid down the wall and tears came flowing. This was the worse pain he had inflicted on her so far, it made her fear what he may do to her in the future. She knew it was too late to meet Booth now, especially now. She could feel her eye stinging and knew by morning it would be black. It also appeared Brett had kicked her hard enough to bruise her ribs, which were causing her a significant amount of pain.

She managed to pull herself onto her bed without too much pain, but didn't have enough energy to change out of her clothes. She softly lay down on her bed and once again the tears came freely. This was the first night in weeks that she hadn't seen Booth and something about that unnerved her. She wished for the hundredth time that her parents would be found and she could leave that horrible place. The only downside to that would be loosing Booth, one of the only friends she had ever had.

* * *

When Booth arrived at school the next morning he hoped to find Brennan and find out where she was the night before. After she had failed to show he tried to convince himself that it wasn't a big deal and that she may have been too busy. He knew that her studies were important to her and wouldn't be surprised if she had fallen asleep studying.

He didn't begin to think that something was off until she didn't show up for school. In the month or so he had known her; she had never missed a day of school. She had come with the flu a few weeks ago, but refused to stay at home. This realisation caused him to worry. Something had to be seriously wrong for her not to show up. He decided to wait and see if she showed up that night before he completely worried about her. He silently prayed that she was just very, very late, but his gut told him that was not the case.

She once again failed to show that night. He waited for what seemed like forever, hoping for the second time that day that she was just running late. _Where are you Temperance? _he asked himself after a couple of hours. He was freezing his bum off, but was determined to wait as long as possible, just in case. He eventually gave up and promised himself that in the morning he would track her down, because something was definitely not right.


	8. Chapter 7

**Thanks for the reviews!!!! Love them :D Here's the next chapter, it's long but I don't think you'll be complaining :) Enjoy and please, please. Please remember to review :D**

**Disclaimer: Probably should mention I don't own Bones, but I do own all the dvds which makes me feel a bit better :)**

Chapter 7

Booth went to school for about ten minutes the next day after he found once again that she was not there. He skipped the rest of the day, knowing Temperance was now a major part of the reason he bothered showing up anymore. He didn't know where she lived but was determined to find out. He decided if he wasn't going to school that day he may as well do something productive. He also knew that his father would be home during the day and would belt him if he realised he was skipping school.

After a few hours it was proving to be difficult for Booth to figure out where she lived. He tried as hard as he could to remember which direction she would come from when they met each other at night, but of course his memory was failing him when he needed to remember the most. He still had an uneasy feeling in his gut that something was terribly wrong and that she may need him. After another couple of hours of searching he had begun wandering aimlessly around the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

Before he knew it day had turned into night and the streets were practically deserted. He knew that his school were very strict on seniors attending school and had no doubt that the school would have called his house sometime that day. Booth knew his dad would be fuming and would be ready to inflict pain on him as soon as he walked in the door. He decided that he wouldn't return back to his house for the rest of the night and prayed that nothing would happen while he wasn't there. Slowly he made his way to the park and hoped she would be there waiting for him.

As he was getting closer to the park he was getting more anxious. He had been worried sick the past two days and as more time passed he worried more and more about her safety. When he arrived at the park he quickly scanned the area, but didn't see her. The second time he searched he paid more attention and noticed her buried deep inside the park, sitting under a large tree. He silently thanked god that she was there and proceeded to walk towards her.

* * *

Temperance had woken up in complete pain two days after she had been caught by Brett. The previous day she didn't have the energy to go to school and she doubted she would that day. She hadn't left the room since Brett had caught her sneaking out, with the exceptions of the bathroom. Her eye was severely swollen and black and blue and there were matching bruises around her ribs. It caused her excruciating pain to move, even something as simple as coughing had become a challenge.

She had decided to skip school again that day, as much as she hated too, but she knew she would feel self-conscious the whole day regarding her eye and feel incredibly uncomfortable. The only thought running through her mind that nearly changed her mind was the prospect of seeing Booth. This was the longest she had gone without seeing him and that made her feel uneasy. In the end after contemplating it she decided to miss school again and save herself from humiliation.

That day only Samantha was home which made her relax slightly. Brett was at work until very late so she knew she would be able to sneak out before he returned. Neither of her foster parents really cared about whether she was at school or not, with both of them purely interested in the extra money they received for housing her. They pretty much kept her there to pick up after them and for Brett to have a second human punching bag to let out his anger on.

She slept for most of the day because she really had nothing else to do. Any time she was awake she would read. When she was put into foster care she took very few things, but had managed to bring some of her favourite books. Despite reading them all many times, she found that by re-reading them she felt like she was normal again, feeling the way she felt when she was back at her house with her family.

Late in the afternoon she managed to pull herself from her bed and get dressed. Her foster mom was in the living room watching mindless television programs, so she would have no trouble sneaking out without being noticed. She quietly grabbed some edible food from the fridge and then walked out of the front door without being noticed. She slowly made her way towards the park, knowing she didn't want to go much longer without seeing him. She had decided to wear jeans and a long sleeve top, which hid some of her old bruises and she wore her hair down in an attempt to cover the damage to her eye.

* * *

When she did get there it was still early for him to arrive so she found a place to sit and began to eat the food she had taken. She waited for a couple of hours, in which time it became darker and darker. It seemed like forever but eventually he did show up. When he first got there she could tell he was searching for her, but didn't see her the first time around. However he did notice her the second time, when he did see her he had a look of relief on his face and it wasn't long before he began to approach her.

"Where have you been, I have been worried sick?" Booth asked when he got within earshot of her. She shrugged her shoulders, not really wanting to talk about it. Booth came and sat next to her under the tree and immediately he saw something was different and wrong. He noticed that she was sitting differently, which could be due to an injury and that her hair was down, which was a rare occurrence. Quickly before she could stop him he pushed back her hair, revealing her black eye.

"What happened?" he asked her calmly, even though he had anger running through his veins.

"He hit me, no big deal," she replied quietly.

"It is a big deal, look at you," he said referring to the swollen and bruised eye, "Is that all he did to you?" he asked. She refused to reply which lead him to believe that this was not all he did. He looked at her in the eye, almost pleading for her to tell him what else had happened. After a minute Brennan reluctantly pulled up her shirt so he could see the bruises around her ribs.

"When did he do it?" he asked.

"Two nights ago," she said the seventh word for the evening. He shook his head in anger and then scooted closer to her and put his arms around her shoulders. She leaned into him ad put her head on his chest. It wasn't long until he heard her crying and felt tears on his shirt. He held her tighter and comforted her in the best way he could. He let her cry and let it out for a few minutes before he asked her another question.

"Why didn't you come to school the past two days?" he asked her whispering.

"Because I didn't want people to see this," she said pointing to her eye, "I'm already ridiculed and embarrassed enough every day because they all know I'm a pathetic foster child. I don't need to be adding to it. Besides I didn't feel like going anyway. I don't fit in there, I am a freak, I'm ugly and everybody hates me." She stopped talking a waited for him to agree with her, she was sure sooner or later he would realise all this and would decide she wasn't worth his time. She stared at the ground too embarrassed to look at him.

"Hey, look at me," Booth said pushing her chin up to look at him, "You are definitely not a freak, you are unique. You are so incredibly smart and beautiful; you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. And not everybody hates you, because I most certainly don't hate you," he said not breaking eye contact with her. She didn't speak while she thought about what he had just said. When she opened her mouth to speak, she found herself speechless; she was unable to say anything.

"Now, I have another question for you. Why haven't you told anyone about what he's doing?" he asked.

"Because no one would believe me, to them all I am is a difficult teenager who lashes out and tries to annoy people. And even on the odd chance that they believed me it would mean I would be moved and I would be … taken away from you," she replied whispering the last part. It was now he who was speechless; he couldn't believe what she had just told him.

"Why do I matter?" he asked after he had recovered.

"Because you are the only one who cares, even just a little bit," she said feeling slightly embarrassed now that he knew how she saw him.

"Brennan, I care way more than a little bit," he said smiling. Booth stood up and held his hand out to her, "Come on, I'll walk you home." Surprisingly she took his hand and guided him in the direction of her house. Her house was only a few minutes away from the park and Booth was now glad he knew where she lived if he ever needed to find her.

"Soooo, are you going to school tomorrow then?" he asked.

"I don't know, what about this?" she pointed to her eye "I don't think I want to be subjected to their gossip," she said sighing slightly.

"Please come, I promise I will be like your bodyguard, if anyone says anything I'll kick their ass," he said, when she laughed he was pleased he got the reaction he was hoping for.

"I guess I could come and take you up on that offer," she replied smiling, it was then she noticed for the first time that they were holding hands. Just when she thought it couldn't get any better Booth leaned down and kissed her and then ran away before she could say anything. She felt a warm feeling, unlike any other she had ever felt. Before he was out of earshot she heard him say something.

"Good night Temperance Brennan, see you tomorrow." She could see him flash her one of his charm smiles as he rounded the corner quickly. Brennan quietly snuck into her room, careful not to wake Brett and got into her bed. And for the first time since her parents disappeared she went to sleep feeling happy and loved.


	9. Chapter 8

**Thanks so much for the reviews :D I wrote this while I was supposed to be doing Literature and Psychology homework :) Three more days til new Bones comes back on here, I am so excited, feels like forever since I last saw a new epi. Hope to have the next chapter up really soon. Enjoy and keep the awesome reviews coming!!**

Chapter 8

Booth patiently waited outside the school, waiting for her to show up. He hoped he that last night was enough to convince her to attend school that day. Just when he loosing hope he saw her walking towards him and he smiled. He noticed she was wearing long sleeves, to cover her bruises and was again wearing her hair down to strategically cover her eye. He noticed she was walking very carefully, probably due to her ribs and noticed she was looking rather pale.

"Hey, I was starting to think you weren't going to come," he said to her when she came to stand next to him.

"Well, I was getting bored sitting in that house all day and the thought of you playing bodyguard seemed to good to miss," she said with a faint smile on her face.

"I meant what I said, any bad word they will be flat in their back in a second," he said smiling to her and guiding her into the school before they were late. They walked quickly into the school building with Booth's hand placed on the small of her back. It didn't take her long to notice it was there and once again she felt what she had the night before when he had kissed her. When they had walked halfway down the hallway the school bell rang to indicate classes starting. Booth knew they would have to separate, a act he wasn't looking forward to. He reluctantly removed his hand from the place on her back and stepped back.

"Well, I better go, I have already missed one day, I don't think they will be pleased of I am late," he said smirking because he really didn't care if he was late but he knew if he was it would be another phone call to his parents and he didn't want to aggravate his father's actions more than he had to.

"Yeah, I guess that would be a bad thing, I also need to find a way to explain why I have been missing," she said.

"Ok, then I will see you later," he said throwing her a heart-melting smile and quickly kissing her in the cheek and rushing to his classroom. She couldn't figure out why she continued to feel a kind of warm feeling whenever he touched her or was even in close proximity to her. But, she knew she wasn't going to force it away, because it was the one thing she had begun to look forward to each day. Slowly she sauntered of to her first class, already counting down the hours since she saw him again.

* * *

When Booth's last class before lunch was finally let out, he was the first one out the door. He shoved all his books into his locker and walked through the crowded hallway to the doors that led outside. When he was out in the open he made his way towards the most secluded part of the school, where she usually spent her time. When he got there he noticed she was already there, with untouched food and reading what looked like a complicated book.

"Hey, Brennan, how has your day been so far?" he asked as he sat down opposite her. When she heard his voice she placed her book down to look at him.

"It's been ok, I guess, nothing real exciting," she said.

"Same here, I have been counting down til school ends for the day," Booth said picking at some of her food. They sat there in their usual comfortable silence, like they usually did. Brennan reading her book and Booth looking at her when he thought she wasn't looking, it was the usual lunch for them and it had been working. They remained like this for god knows how long until they heard someone call from behind them.

"Hey, Seeley," a boy's voice said which made Booth turn around. He saw Cameron, a boy in his year, and one of his teammates walking towards him.

"Hi Cameron. What's up?" Booth asked unsure of what he could possibly want.

"Not much. Listen, I was wondering where you were yesterday, you weren't here for school and we missed you at practice," he said. Booth noticed Cameron had a group of girls trailing after him, which wasn't unusual for him.

"I didn't feel like coming, is that a crime," Booth said noticing that Brennan was becoming uncomfortable with so many people around, and that she was becoming extremely self-conscious.

"Well, yeah when everybody else shows up and you fail to just because you don't feel like it," Cameron said stepping closer towards Booth. Booth heard giggling from the girls behind Cameron and realised what they were laughing about when he heard them whispering her name. He looked towards Brennan and realised she had noticed too and was now hiding her face completely behind her book.

"Sorry about that, but right now I don't really care, so if you could go please," Booth said wanting to get rid of them so he could talk to Brennan.

"Whatever, just make sure you're there next week," with that Cameron and the girls had left, but not before the girls caught a last glimpse of Brennan, an whispered and pointed as if she was an attraction at the circus. When they were out of sight Booth went around to the other side of the table and saw that she was concentrating very hard on not crying. He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her towards him and as if this was permission, she let her tears fall. She buried her head in his chest as she cried uncontrollably, this was why she had not shown up and school the past two days, to avoid those situations.

"Hey, hey, shhh, it's ok," Booth said trying to calm her down. After a few minutes she was trying to regain composure and wiped tears away from her face.

"Sorry, about your shirt," she said when she saw wet blotches.

"Don't worry about it, but if you really feel bad, come to the movies with me after school," he said hoping she would accept his offer.

"What… you mean… like a … date?" she asked hesitantly, worrying she had misunderstood. He grinned at her and then said.

"Yeah, like a date."

"Are you sure, I mean I am not the most fun person to be around," she said.

"Of course I am sure, so is that a yes," he asked hoping she would agree.

"Yes," she said smiling for the first time since that morning. The bell rang to signal the end of lunch and the two slowly made there way back to the building. Booth told her to meet him outside the school at the end of the day and kissed her cheek for the second time that day. The two had smiles plastered on their faces for the remainder of the school day, both anxiously waiting for the final bell to ring.


	10. Chapter 9

**So the original idea of this story was to be a back story for my other story **_**Digging up the Past.**_** But after putting some thought into the storyline, I wanted to follow a different path. So as of now this is a story that will stand on its own, with a few similarities to my first story, i.e.: the name of her foster parents (purely because I couldn't be bothered going back and changing them)**

**I hope to have another chapter up soon, but that all depends on the amount of homework my teachers decide to force on me. I am not sure what this chapter is like because the extreme heat is affecting me, so anything that seems off or any mistakes can be connected to that.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, the keep getting better and better. Hope to see them continue :D Enjoy this chapter :)**

Chapter 9

After the final bell had rung Booth had practically sprinted out of his classroom and was quickly outside the school, making sure she couldn't back out. He positioned himself out the front so that as soon as she came out he could catch her and they could go on their date. He had been waiting anxiously for the remainder of the day, worried that if she had the opportunity that she would change her mind. Usually he didn't dwell too much on rejection, but if she was to reject him, he knew it would hurt more than ever.

It didn't take long until he saw her walking out of the building. He quickly waved to get her attention and began walking closer to her. He noticed that when she saw him a smile was instantly on her face, which made him smile. She was just as excited and anxious as he was. She was desperately hoping that he wouldn't suddenly realise she wasn't worth and ditch her. But, when she saw him waiting there for her, she wouldn't have a thing to worry about.

"You ready to go?" he asked when he reached her.

"I am if you are," she simply replied. Brennan was unsure the way to act on a date, as she hadn't really ever been on one before, which added to her nervousness.

"Do you want to drop your stuff off at your house or anything?" he asked unsure of what to say.

"Not really, he is home at this time," she said knowing he would know what she meant. Booth nodded and began to point her in the direction of the cinemas. At first there was an awkward silence between them, because in some way this was new territory for both of them. Booth had been on many dates with girls, but this was different because he knew he felt something for her, that he hadn't felt for anyone else. It took a little while before Booth thought of something to say.

"So, since this is a date, we should find out more stuff about each other. So what do you want to be when you are older?" he asked trying to spark a conversation.

"Well, for a few years now I have wanted to be a forensic anthropologist," she answered him as she quickened her pace to stay in time with him.

"What's that?"

"It is identifying the remains of humans, whose bodies are so decomposed or mutilated that they are otherwise unrecognisable and unidentifiable. Usually forensic anthropologists work with the human skeleton to determine race, sex, age and cause of death, along with many other things. They often help identify murder victims and give people back their identities," she replied. Booth could tell by the way she spoke about it that this was something she was passionate about and he knew this was something she was obviously working towards.

"Wow, that's impressive, I can totally see you doing that," he said smiling at her.

"What about you? What do you want to do when you leave school?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I am not entirely sure, like you are, but I have been giving thought to the Army. I've always liked the idea of serving and protecting my country. If not that maybe something to do with law enforcement," he replied. Brennan smiled and he could tell she liked his ideas.

"I think that would be a perfect choice for you," she said. The rest of the walk was now in a comfortable silence, every now and then one of the bringing up a random topic, inspired by things they saw along the way. By the time they reached the cinemas they noticed that somewhere along the way, their hands had joined. When they both noticed this they felt slightly embarrassed, but were both so comfortable they didn't do anything or say anything about it.

After a lot of persuading and arguing, Booth paid for both of the tickets and food and drinks. When they entered the theatre they noticed that it was full of familiar faces, people from their school. After the events that had occurred earlier that day they managed to get a seat in the back, secluded from everyone else. Brennan was grateful that it would be dark during the movie so she wouldn't have to worry about covering up her eye.

* * *

When the movie had ended, it was early in the evening. Brennan knew she should get home soon, before Brett noticed she was not there. Booth also needed to return home, because it wouldn't be long until his father returned home, drunk and ready to strike. The two of them slowly made their way outside and began walking back towards where they lived. They were once again holding hands and savouring the moment before they had to separate and both face the nightmare of their homes.

"I had a really nice time tonight. One of the best in ages," Brennan said when they were standing outside her house.

"Me too, I'm glad you feel the same way," Booth said grinning at her. For a few moments they stood there not wanting the night to end. Brennan noticed that Booth was string at her oddly, like he wanted to say something, but was unsure how to. It didn't take long until Booth had moved closer to her and bent his head down. Just as she realised what was happening, his lips touched hers. Unlike the previous time he had kissed her lips, this time she could enjoy the softness of his lips and she could savour the moment. She almost immediately began to kiss him back, trying to prolong it.

When they parted Booth was wearing a silly grin and she was wearing one almost identical. They both knew that if they didn't know before, they knew now that this wasn't something that would be short-lived. They stood there for a few more minutes just smiling at each other before Brennan spoke.

"Well, I have to go, before he comes out looking."

Yeah, I should probably get back too….Are you going to sneak out tonight?" he asked wanting to continue their ritual of meeting in the park in the middle of the night after their latest round of abuse.

"I will, if you will," she said smiling.

"Well, I will see you later then," he said leaning down again and kissing her once more before reluctantly letting go of her hand to let her walk inside. When she reached the front door she turned her head slightly and saw him watching her, as if to see she got in safely. She gave him a small wave goodbye and one of the biggest smiles he had ever gotten from her. After she closed the door behind her Booth began to walk into the darkness, anticipating what was waiting for him when he walked through his door.


	11. Chapter 10

**Thanks for the reviews, they are fantastic. Sorry about the delay but school, work and sickness got in the way. I hope to have another chapter up really soon, so if you want more review :) I have tried to keep some things similar to the show, but a lot of the things are creative license so don't think too much of what actually happened on the show and just go with what I am coming up with. I have a basic plan of how I want this to play out so hopefully that will help the rate I update.**

**Please, please review and enjoy :D**

Chapter 10

Booth was walking home feeling the happiest he had all week. He had just had the best time with his… what could he call her… friend…girlfriend…Bones, that's who she was, Bones. Although he hadn't yet called her that he now associated that name with her. She was unlike anyone he had ever been around, despite all her hardships, he could still find small bursts of happiness and silliness. He couldn't wait til that night when he could see her again, she was like a drug that he had to have all the time.

When he returned home, he immediately knew something was wrong. Usually his mom's car would be parked outside his house, his dad's was never there it was usually still at the last place he got drunk. But today there was no car and it looked as if there hadn't been one there for quite a number of hours. Booth quickly ran the rest of the way to his house and rushed to the front door. When he let himself inside the house at first it looked like no one was home. It was then he heard a noise which indicated movement. It was coming from his brother's room.

Booth took the stairs two at a time and quickly went to find out what his brother was doing. Jared was only three years younger than Seeley, but sometimes his maturity could indicate a larger age difference. When he got to Jared's room, he saw his younger brother throwing a basketball at the wall as hard as he could.

"Hey, stop that, if dad comes home and sees you doing that, he'll go off," Booth yelled trying to get the ball out of his brother's hands. When Jared let him take it without a fight, he knew something was up. He then saw the look on Jared's face and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Jared what's going on?" Seeley asked concerned. It took a few minutes for Jared to respond but when he did Booth thought his heart had stopped.

"Mom left." Two simple words, two words that changed his mood entirely. He wasn't sure whether to be angry, sad or scared. Then he realised that they were left alone with their father, who knew what could happen then.

"What do you mean Mom left? Where did she go?" he asked his brother, to make sure this wasn't some sick joke.

"I mean she's gone. I came home from school and she was packing all her things. When I asked her what was going on she said she couldn't handle it anymore. That she had to leave or she would go crazy. I asked her about what we would do and she didn't answer, she just continued packing and a few minutes later she had left," Jared retold what had happened trying not to let unmanly tears get the better of him.

Booth thought he was going to be sick. His mother had left them in the care of their drunk, abusive father. He knew what his father did to her, but now with her gone all of that would be taken out on the two of them. He had never been so terrified in his life. He was speechless; he had no idea how to respond to what his brother had told him. It wasn't for about an hour until he thought of someone he could ask for help. He quickly grabbed the phone and dialled a familiar number.

"Hello," the voice said on the other end.

"Pops, its Seeley," Booth said.

"Shrimp how are you? I haven't heard from you in a few days," the infectiously happy voice said.

"Pops, I really need you to come over. Please," Booth said to his grandfather pleading. Hank heard the desperation in his grandson's voice and he knew something was up.

"Don't worry, I'll be there in ten minutes," Hank replied hanging up before Booth could respond.

* * *

An hour later Booth and Jared were in their grandfather's car with all of their belongings stacked in the trunk and around them. When Hank had arrived they had informed him of what had happened, which made Hank act instantly. He told the boys to pack up everything they would need for the next few days, and told them they could get the rest later. He then piled the two boys into his car and began driving off. When they were a few blocks away Hank told the boys that they were going to live with him.

Booth was apprehensive at first; he wasn't sure what his father's reaction would be when he returned to an empty house. He knew his father's temper wasn't great at the best of times, so seeing something like that would only provoke it. After driving for a few minutes he began to relax and realised that with his grandfather he would be safe and wouldn't have to constantly be on edge. They quickly stopped off at the grocery store to pick up some food and then they were at Hank's house. Booth was glad his Pops house was only five minutes away from his which meant, he could still leave during the night and meet Brennan.

He quickly found the room he had dubbed as his over the years and began to unpack some of his things. His grandmother had died a few years earlier, so he knew that with them living there they could offer his grandfather some much needed company. It wasn't long until he was called down for dinner and when down to eat with Jared and Hank. He couldn't wait until his brother and his Pops went to bed, because then he could leave and see her. He knew that she would understand what he was going through; just knowing that was comfort in itself.


	12. Chapter 11

**Thanks for the reviews :) Sorry this took a while again, stupid school. Holidays are in about two weeks, so I plan to update as much as I can during then. Would love to see more reviews, to know what people think of this story, I really love feedback. Here's the next chapter, Please review and Enjoy :D**

Chapter 11

Booth snuck out of his grandfather's house earlier than he normally would that night. He knew his Pops and his brother would be sound asleep and after the emotional turmoil he had been through in the last few hours, all he wanted to do was see her. He knew she would be able to comfort him with a simple smile and make him feel 100% better, without even realising it. He still wasn't sure what she was to him yet, but just the anticipation of seeing her made him feel better than he had since going home that day.

He knew for his day to go so well with her, there would have to have been something dark lurking, waiting until he was completely happy. It didn't take him long to walk from his Pops house to the park, so he was there in a matter of minutes. He noticed she was already there, patiently waiting for him to arrive. She looked calm and peaceful, the happiest he had seen her in a while, and he guessed their day had had the same affect on her as it had on him.

When he came closer to her he slowed his pace, wanting to surprise her because her back was facing away from him. He quietly came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. She managed to turn around to face him and he saw a huge smile on her face as she did. She looked so beautiful at that moment that he couldn't resist kissing her lips quickly, hoping to preserve her happiness, which fortunately for him it did.

"Hey, you're early," she said finally after a few minutes.

"Yeah, well a lot happened today after we went home," he said wanting to inform her of his hardship.

"What happened?" she asked in a low tone, already sensing something wasn't right.

"Well, when I got home, Jared was there and he was making a lot of noise. I went up and found him in his room throwing a ball at the wall. When I asked him what was wrong he told me that Mom had left," he told her. He saw her expression change, sadness, sadness for him.

"Oh, Booth," was all she managed to say as she moved closer to him to try and comfort him.

"Yeah, well apparently she couldn't deal with everything anymore, and felt the need to leave. She packed all her things and left and left us behind too," he said his voice becoming shaky. Brennan did something totally unlike her and she hugged him. She couldn't remember ever hugging someone like this other than her family, but it felt like the right thing to do. She knew she had done the right thing when Booth hugged her back and seemed to relax.

"What are you going to do now, you can't stay with your dad," she said worried about his wellbeing if the two boys were left in the care of their father.

"Don't worry, I called my Pops and we are going to live with him now," he told her and she just nodded in response.

"You're lucky, you know, having someone, to care for you like that, really lucky," she said.

"Well, you may not have many, but you do have me, don't you worry about that," he said smiling and hugging her again. He knew he had made the right decision, telling her everything, he knew he wouldn't have to carry this alone; he would have her to support him.

"You should meet my Pops, he would love you," Booth said after minutes of silence.

"Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Yep, definitely," he replied.

"Booth, what are we I mean… like what are we to each other?" Brennan asked hesitantly, almost as if her question was dangerous.

"We are what ever you want us to be. Like in my opinion I would love to call you my girlfriend, but as I said it's up to you," Booth said, hoping to put her mind at ease.

"I would like you to be my boyfriend and I would love to be your girlfriend," she said softly.

"Good, that's settled then," Booth answered her smiling and pulling her against his chest and kissing her forehead. They remained there for an hour or two, sometimes discussing random topics that came to mind, other times in silence, enjoying each other's presence, then they both reluctantly returned home, both feeling how they felt when they parted earlier that day.


	13. Chapter 12

_Thanks for the reviews, alerts, favourites etc, they are fantastic. Here's a new chapter, it basically wrote itself. It's my birthday in 3 days, so review and give me an early birthday present :) Hope you enjoy this and I hope to update again soon._

Chapter 12

For the next few months life was mostly easy for the two. Booth was now in a stable, safe home. He couldn't be happier. Brennan on the other hand was having a lot of trouble, which she was keeping from Booth. Her foster father had become more and more in the recent weeks. He would hit her more and more, a majority of his punches were aimed at her face, but when he got tired of that she often received blows to her abdomen and had suffered many broken ribs, which sometimes mad her days unbearable. To add insult to injury she was also receiving many insults at school, many of them concerning her relationship with Booth, many of them were results of jealousy. But, they always enjoy rubbing it in her face about her foster situation.

Booth knew that something was wrong with her, but any time he tried to bring it up she quickly changed the subject. He even began to become more suspicious when she wouldn't show up at school for days at a time, and whenever she did return to school, he could see faint bruises on her face. He was extremely worried about her, but he knew if he tried to intervene, she may take it the wrong way. He hadn't yet told his concerns to anyone else, but was very close to telling his grandfather, hoping that would help. She had already told him her foster father abused her, but he could tell it was becoming worse. There was one night when they had met up in the park when Booth noticed her extreme aversion to him touching her. When he had moved to hug her she had quickly jumped away as if he was a disease.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she tried to cover it all up with a forced smile.

"I know there is something wrong. You have been missing school, and you think I haven't noticed the fading bruises? And now you won't even let me hug you," he said getting slightly irritated that she was keeping things from him.

"It's no big deal, really," she said. Booth saw her wince when she took a breath to strongly. He was at her side in a second and surprisingly she didn't protest when he lifted her shirt slightly and exposed fresh bruises around her ribs.

"God, Temperance. These look like there are bruises on top of bruises," he said feeling slightly sick at the look of them.

"Just leave it alone, it doesn't matter," she said shoving her shirt back down.

"Why haven't you told anyone about this? Or seen a doctor? Or something?" he said as loudly as he could given the time of night.

"I told you before, no one will believe me. And if I go to a hospital they will take me away, and I can't leave you," she said beginning to cry. Her tears fell at a rapid rate after the first. Booth gently put his arms around her and hugged her and this time she let him. She felt safe when she was in his arms, like nothing in the world was wrong and she was able to escape the horrors of reality, just for a moment.

"Hey, you need to tell someone, please, I can't stand seeing you hurt," he said pleading with her.

"If I see a doctor, will that be enough?" she asked knowing he wanted her to actually talk to her social worker.

"No, but it's a start and I guess it will have to do for now," he said smiling at her. She managed to give him a smile which made him even happier. Wanting to savour the moment he leant down and kissed her softly. It still amazed him that even after being able to kiss her for a while now, he still felt incredibly happy whenever he did.

"Will you come with me to the doctor's office, I don't really want to be alone, you don't have to come in or anything, but I don't really like the waiting rooms…" she was babbling on and he kissed her again, he had already found this to be an effective way of getting her to stop talking.

"As long as we go tomorrow straight after school," he told her. She rolled her eyes and mumbled a 'fine' and then kissed him in thanks. They spent the rest of the night as they usually did, enjoying each other's company.


	14. Chapter 13

_Thanks for all the great reviews. Here's the next chapter, I have the mostly written so it should be up soon. Please review and enjoy :D_

Chapter 13

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Booth asked Brennan the next day after school.

"No, really don't want to go," she told him.

"If you won't go to the hospital I am not letting you get out of going to the doctors. You could be seriously injured, Pops has let me use his car so we can drive there, and if you begin to protest I will take you to hospital, your choice," he told her firmly.

"Fine, let's go," she said as she let him lead the way to his grandfather's car. He was being chivalrous as his grandfather had told him and went to open the door for her, and because her ribs hurt so much she didn't even try to protest. She quickly got into the car and got settled and tried to shut the door but was stopped when Booth leaned down and kissed her, trying to reassure her to tell her that everything would be ok. After he closed the door and went and got into the car himself they were off.

When they were on the road for a few minutes Brennan began to become anxious. She was worried that the doctor would ask how she got an injury this bad, because a doctor would surely notice that the bruises were ones on top of the other. Booth noticed her begin to fidget and asked her what was wrong.

"What if they ask what happened? What am I supposed to tell them? They will find out, and then _if _they believe me they will tell social services and I will be moved," she said with nervousness in her voice. Booth pulled over the car and turned around in his seat to face her.

"Calm down, if you are so worried tell them you fell out of a tree or something like that, and anyway what would be so bad about somebody knowing what is happening to you. If you were moved you would be safe and they wouldn't be able to hurt you anymore," he said with pain for her evident in his voice.

"I have told you if they move me it could be to anywhere and I could be miles away from you and I don't want that to happen. And in another home worse things could happen to me," she said quietly.

"I just want you to be safe, why didn't you tell me it had gotten this bad earlier?" he asked. She turned her face away from him and mumbled something. "What was that?" he asked not hearing what she said.

"I said, you just got away from all this stuff and I didn't need you to have to worry about it all again," she told him, referring to him finally being away from his father's abuse. He gently placed his finger under her chin and pulled her to face him; he saw tears pricking at the side of her eyes.

"Hey, even though I am away from it myself, it still hurts just as much knowing you are still dealing with it. I just want you safe and happy, ok. I love you and I hate seeing you hurt like this," he said, realising he had never told a girl he loved her.

"Really, you love me," she asked as if he was going to take it back when he realised what he said.

"Yes, I really do, and just so you know you are the first and hopefully the last person I say that to," he said trying to remove the look of fear from her face. Slowly the look disappeared from her face and was replaced with a radiant smile.

"I love you too, Booth," she said hesitantly. He grinned at her and kissed her hard and then told her they should continue on to the doctors. Brennan sat back a little less worried, because she felt more loved and happy than she ever had.

* * *

After her visit to the doctors Booth tried to persuade her to come to his house for dinner. She was reluctant at first because she knew that Brett could often get more violent when she was late home but after calling home and speaking to her foster mom, he managed to convince her. All the way home Booth excitedly told her about his grandfather and how much he had wanted to meet her. She was glad that he finally had a good thing to say about the place he called home.

They pulled up in front of a suburban two storey house in a quiet neighbourhood and Brennan was reminded of what life was like months before when her parents and brother were still around. While she was remembering Booth had gone around and begun to open the door for her.

"You know I am capable of opening a door by myself," she said.

"Yeah, I know I am I am being a gentleman," he said giving her a charm smile which in turn made her smile. He quickly closed the door and locked the car and grabbed her hand, steering her towards the front door of the house. He pulled out his key and let them inside. When they got inside she saw that the house was most definitely by definition a home. There were pictures everywhere she looked and she knew this was a place anyone could feel welcome.

"Shrimp is that you?" Brennan heard a voice calling from upstairs.

"Yeah, Pops it's me, I brought a friend over, you know the one you wanted to meet," Booth called back to the voice.

"Shrimp?" Brennan asked with a amused look on her face.

"Yeah, it's a nickname my Pops has for me. Why have you never had a nickname?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"Nope, never."

"Well, I thought of one for you a while ago, but I never told you," he said smiling.

"Yeah, what's that?" she asked.

"Bones."

"Why, Bones?"

"Because you want to be a forensic anthropologist and they work with bones, you know it's sort of self explanatory," he replied.

"It's very juvenile," she said.

"Well technically you are still a juvenile, so I think it fits perfectly," he said laughing at the annoyed look on her face.

"I think it's stupid," she said crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Whatever you say Bones," he replied as he heard his grandfather coming down the stairs.

"Ah, you must be Temperance, I have heard a lot about you from Seeley," Hank said when he got to where the two were standing.

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Booth," Brennan replied very politely.

"Please, call me Hank, anyway come and sit down you don't need to be standing here in the doorway all night," Hank said and lead the way into the living room.

"Let's go Bones," Booth said grabbing her hand and guiding her.

"Don't call me Bones," she said before giving him a smile.


	15. Chapter 14

_Thanks so much for the reviews, fantastic as always :) Here's the next chapter, please review and enjoy :D_

Chapter 14

"So shrimp tells me you're new to the area," Hank said after finding a seat on an armchair. He watched as the two teenagers sat down on the couch opposite him and awkwardly kept a distance.

"Umm, yeah, I guess," Brennan answered hesitantly unsure of what Booth had told Hank of her situation.

"Don't look so worried, Seeley has told me what you have been going through, and I am very sorry for that," Hank replied genuinely. She was unsure how to answer that so she just smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. Booth noticed that Brennan was slightly uncomfortable so he tried to make things easier.

"Hey Pops is Jared home?" he asked hoping the focus would be drawn away from her.

"Yes, he should be upstairs. I need to go check on dinner so you two can stay in here if you want," Hank said leaving the room for the kitchen. When he had left Booth spoke.

"So that's my Pops," Booth said turning to face her.

"He seems nice, you are very lucky to have him," she said smiling at him.

"Do you have any grandparents?" he asked her realising he had never really found out.

"Nope, if I did maybe I wouldn't be in the system," she replied looking down at her lap.

"Well, then that worked out, then otherwise we would never have met," he said pulling out his charm smile to lighten the mood. She saw his attempt and smiled back at him.

"Yeah, and that would have been a shame, wouldn't it," she replied sarcastically her spirits seemingly lifted. The moment was broken when they heard Booth's grandfather call out that dinner was ready, so the two pulled themselves from the couch and made their way to the table. When they entered the room Booth grabbed her hand and pulled her to the two seats on one side of the table to ensure they were sitting next to each other. Jared sat opposite them while Hank sat at the head of the table.

"So Temperance do you know Jared? Are you in any of the same classes?" Hank asked when they began eating.

"Umm, yes just English," she replied.

"Yeah, that's because she's in all the advanced classes and Jared's not," Booth said smirking at his brother.

"Shut up, Seeley," Jared said kicking his brother under the table. Hank gave the two a warning look and Brennan smirked at the look on Booth's face when he was essentially told off.

"Anyway, I have been meaning to ask, how did you exactly meet Temperance, Seeley? Considering you are three years older?" Hank asked curiously.

"Well, some boys were giving her a hard time, so I came and tried to help her out," he answered.

"I didn't need your help," Brennan murmured.

"Yeah, cause you were doing so well by yourself," he said grinning at her.

"Whatever, I still could have taken care of myself," she said smiling at him unable to resist the look on his face. Hank watched their exchange and realised he had never seen his grandson so happy. The night continued smoothly, with Booth driving Brennan home at about 8 o'clock. She told him she couldn't meet him that night because she had studying to do and sleep to catch up on, which disappointed him. He kissed her goodnight and tried to keep her there for as long as possible to make up for not seeing her later. She eventually left the car with a smile on her face, hoping that she wouldn't be confronted by her stepfather when she got inside.

* * *

The next morning Booth waited outside the school like usual for her to show up. He noticed that she was later than normal, but guessed that she may have just slept in. When she finally showed up he noticed that her eyes were red and puffy, showing that she had been crying and that there were dark rings under her eyes, indicating lack of sleep.

"Hey, Bones. What's wrong?" he asked her, she didn't even comment on the nickname but pulled him away to a more private area so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Umm, social services showed up last night," she started sniffing, "They said they received a call, from one of the neighbours, who were suspicious of abuse. They checked around with hospitals and doctors in the area and pulled the file from the clinic we went to the other day. In the file, the doctor wrote that they suspected some form of domestic abuse. Anyway, they came around last night and told me that they have decided to take the suspicions seriously and are moving me to a new home," she said crying.

"Why are you crying that's good right, that means you are away from them," he said pulling her into a hug to comfort her.

"Yeah, but that means I have to move away from you and change schools again, and I really don't want to do that," she said tears still running down her face.

"Where are you moving to?" he asked her.

"Somewhere about twenty minutes from here," she replied rubbing her eyes.

"Well, that's good I can still come and visit you, it's not too far away. Don't worry, we will still see each other, and if you are safe, that's even better," he told her kissing her forehead.

"Maybe," she replied simply.

"We will work it out. When do you have to leave?" he asked.

"Tomorrow, they have arrested Brett and took a look at me and maybe he will be charged but who knows. I have to pack my stuff tonight and then they will come in the morning to get me," she said feeling slightly better.

"I will come around in the morning and find out where you will be, then I will visit you after school, ok," he said.

"Ok," she said managing to smile.

"Good, now let's get inside before we get in trouble for being late," he hugged her and kissed her forehead again and then they made there way inside to get thorough what would be a difficult day.


	16. Chapter 15

_Thanks for the reviews, they are fantastic. Here's the next chapter, please continue to review and let me know what you think :D_

Chapter 15

It was the day she had been dreading. She was being moved away, she had finally outlived her first foster home, she guessed it was like an honour, no one stayed in only one place and it was inevitable that you would have to start fresh eventually. Brennan was reminded by one of the boys she had met before being moved to the Smith house, everyone makes a list, a list of foster homes that didn't work out. Brennan quickly tried to find something to write on before she forgot and when she came up with nothing, she settled on the bottom on a shoe, it didn't matter where it was, as long as there was one.

Booth had told her the night before that he was going to show up early in the morning at follow them to her new home. She was glad that at least someone she cared about would know where to look for her, not that many people cared where she was. She heard a car pull up outside the house and she saw that it was her social workers, she quickly stuffed the rest of her few belongings into the garbage bags she had _generously_ been given and hurried down stairs.

When she arrived downstairs she saw the social worker waiting near the door politely talking to Samantha, who was obviously trying to stay in their good books and be allowed to continue to foster children despite her husband's actions. Brennan quickly walked over to the man standing near the door, wanting to leave the house as soon as she could. It wasn't long before they were outside, walking towards the workers car. Brennan looked around and noticed Booth's grandfathers car parked a little up the street, she smiled and got into the car and waited to be taken to her new home.

* * *

After getting through the peak hour traffic it took about 40 minutes to arrive at her new home. She noticed immediately that the area they had entered was extremely rich and up-market. Many of the houses, if you could call them that, were absolutely huge and could be worth millions of dollars. Brennan was completely puzzled by who, someone who had this kind of cash, would want to take in a broken, worthless foster child.

They weaved in and out of streets and Brennan looked through the side mirror and was relieved to see Booth behind him, she would have loved right then to see the look on his face when passing these houses. Not long later they pulled up in front of one of the smaller 'mansions', it had a considerably long driveway and looked to be two stories with a swimming pool and tennis court close together. It was double story with two balconies on what she presumed were bedrooms on the second floor.

"Well Temperance, this is your new home," her social worker announced as they were let in the driveway. She had never taken the time to learn this man's name, he didn't mean anything to her, he was simply the one who carted her from place to place, whether she liked it or not.

"It's ok, I guess," she mumbled not wanting to give much else on the subject. As she got out of the car she turned and saw Booth was still at the end of the driveway and she motioned to him that she would be fine and that he should be going to school now. He looked reluctant to leave, but eventually did after motioning for her to call her later after he had gotten out of school to tell him how everything went. She noticed that her social worker had started to walk towards what looked like the front door and was starting to look around to find her.

Brennan quickly made her way up to the door in time for it to be answered by a blonde woman who looked to be in her late thirties. Her social worker began conversing with the woman and seemed to be introducing them, but Brennan was totally in another world.

"Temperance," she jumped when he almost barked at her. She turned abruptly and faced him and the woman at the door, who she presumed was her new foster mother. "This is Tess Sanders, Tess this is Temperance Brennan. Tess and her husband, Aaron, are you're new foster parents," he said directing the last part towards Brennan.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Temperance, please won't you come inside," Tess said enthusiastically pulling Brennan's hand and ushering her inside the house. Brennan had never seen a house that looked so fancy and expensive. All the houses she had ever lived in had been ones which had the necessities and weren't overly decorated or furnished. She was shown upstairs to her room, which was rather large and spacious, it housed a large bed and surprisingly a television, which was the last thing Brennan had expected to be in there.

Brennan was told that she was the first foster child they had taken in and they had done so after being unsuccessful in having a baby and wanting to share their love and life with someone. Brennan spent the rest of the day in her room after her social worker left and had been told by Tess to get settled in. She was anxiously waiting for the time to pass for when she could call Booth and hopefully meet up with him and talk with him. After having nothing else to do she ventured downstairs and found her foster mother and asked about school and things like that, finding anything to pass the time.


	17. Chapter 16

__

Here's the next chapter, thanks for the reviews keep them coming. So I planned ages ago for them to meet another person from the 'future' and I chose a certain person, I have revealed the person in this chapter, so let me know what you think of my choice. Enjoy and review :)

Chapter 16

When Booth arrived at school he felt good about her being placed in a new home. It was apparent that she would be in a good kind of neighbourhood and he just hoped that this family would be better than the last and she would be treated well. He had been reluctant at first to leave her alone at the new house but he knew she would be fine when she turned to him from the driveway, so he had left and told her to call him later.

He made it back to his grandfather's house in time to drop the car off and walk to school with a few minutes to spare, and he was then reminded that he would now not be able to see her at school everyday. He knew that it was a probably a good thing that he wouldn't have the distraction all the time, but it annoyed him that he wouldn't be able to sit with her at lunch any more and their time together would be even more restricted.

As soon as school had finished he practically raced home hoping that she would call him soon. He had been jumpy all day, wanting to hear from her and hear what the new ones were like. It wasn't long til the phone rang and he quickly answered it, hoping it was her voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello," he answered.

"Hi, it's me," her voice brought an instant smile to his face.

"Hey, Bones. How's everything going?" he asked.

"It's going fine so far. Tess, my foster mother seems really nice so far, so that's good. I haven't met her husband Aaron yet, he doesn't get home until five," she answered her voice happier than it had been in weeks.

"That's good. How's your room? That house is _freakin'_ huge," he said exaggerating.

"It's good, better than my other one, it's really big. Tess said that this weekend she is going to take me shopping and buy me clothes, she said I don't have enough," Brennan said.

"That's great, it sounds like this one is going to be good," he told her.

"Yeah, hey I was talking to Tess earlier and she was asking about my friends and stuff and she asked about if I had a boyfriend or not and I told her about you. And anyway I asked her if you could come over later, just to see where I live and all that, and if you wanted to she said you could come over for dinner," Brennan nervously, knowing this was the first time she had ever had a boy over for dinner.

"I would love to Bones, in that case I better go," Booth replied.

"Ok, I'll see you soon then," she answered before hanging up. Booth smiled when he hung up the phone and then went in search of his grandfather to ask if he could borrow his car, again.

* * *

Brennan was sitting outside the house nervously waiting for Booth to arrive. She knew it was stupid, considering that she and Booth had been together for a number of months, but she hadn't had this chance so far to have this opportunity. An hour ago she had met her new foster father Aaron, who she had been told was the CEO in some big corporate business, hence the large amounts of money. He seemed as nice as his wife and both seemed like genuine people; Brennan hoped this family was the real deal.

It wasn't long until she saw Booth arrive outside the long driveway and step out of the car. She quickly stood up and began making her way down to let him in, luckily she had been shown how to operate the state of the art security or Booth could be standing out there forever. She quickly opened the gate and he walked through and as soon as she had closed them he pulled her into him and quickly kissed her.

"I missed seeing you at school today," he said smiling as he pulled back.

"It's only been one day," she smirked.

"Yeah but I was reminded that that one day is going to turn into weeks, and then months, and then saying I missed you will be valid," he said pulling out his charm smile. She rolled her eyes at his words.

"Whatever," she said letting him kiss her again quickly. "Oh, I should warn you, Tess and Aaron invited over some next-door neighbours to meet and I quote 'the new addition to their family'," Brennan adding a sarcastic tone to the last part.

"_Bones,_ I thought you said they were nice," he asked her as they made their way up the driveway.

"Yeah, I'm just not sure about how they see me," she said nervously.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they just want you to be introducing you formally, so it won't seem like a big deal and you won't get any of those weird looks," he said reassuring her.

"I guess you're right," she answered.

"So do any of the neighbours have kids?" he asked.

"Yeah, most of them are younger kids, but there is one who is my age, he's an only child. If I remember correctly his name is Jack Hodgins, he seems nice enough from what I have seen of him," she said as they reached the front door.

"Cool, well here we are," he said.

"Here we are," she repeated. He smiled at her reassuringly and she eventually opened the door and lead the way inside.


	18. Chapter 17

_Thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter, please let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions, let me know also :) Enjoy :D_

Chapter 17

As soon as they walked inside Booth was amazed by the sheer size of the house. He thought that it looked big from the outside, but nothing could compare to what the inside looked like. The house had high ceilings with what looked like original fittings, their was a rather large staircase on the far side of the foyer and a long hallway which lead to a another room where Booth could see a large group of people. The two of them managed to sneak into the room without drawing to much attention to themselves and Brennan managed to get him a drink before her foster mother found them.

"Temperance, this must be the boy I have been hearing about," the bubbly, blonde woman said coming up to the two and held out her hand to Booth.

"Yes, Tess this is Seeley Booth, Booth this is Tess Sanders," Brennan quickly made introductions.

"It's very nice to meet you Seeley; it's good to know that Temperance will have someone she knows nearby. I'll just go find Aaron, my husband, he would love to meet you," Tess said leaving the two of them alone again.

"She's nice," Booth said smiling.

"Yeah, she is. Are you hungry?" Brennan asked him. He nodded, and she led him towards the kitchen, the whole way there he was being constantly amazed by the house. They quickly found some food and he piled up his plate and convinced her to eat a fair amount as well. She quickly grabbed a drink and then they made their way back to the main room. On the way back they came across Aaron, her new foster father, Brennan slightly stiffened, she was still wary around new people, especially men.

"You must be Seeley, Temperance's friend. It's nice to meet you, I'm Aaron," he said holding out his hand politely.

"Nice to meet you," Booth said, before Brennan and himself made their way back to the room. When they entered the room Brennan pointed out Jack Hodgins. He looked to be about 16 or 17; he had curly brown hair and was dressed so casually that you wouldn't be able to tell that he would be the 'rich' type.

"Come on Bones, let's go say hello, he looks as bored as we do," Booth said smiling. They slowly made there way over to where he was sitting and pulled two chairs next to him. Booth saw Brennan was struggling holding her food and also with the added strain on her healing ribs, so he quickly helped her. He then quickly turned and introduced himself to the boy.

"Hi, I'm Seeley Booth."

"Jack Hodgins, you Temperance's boyfriend?" Jack asked.

"Yep, that's me. So, you don't look like a rich kid," Booth said smiling, to let him know not to take him too seriously.

"Yeah, well I am not really a part of that world, I try to stay away as much as possible, you know," he answered smiling. Booth nodded and realised that he may not be that bad. The three of them began to talk about all different things school, music, television, movies, the two boys discussed sport and Brennan and Jack managed to find a common interest in science and discussed that at length. Booth and Brennan were fast becoming friends with him and Jack was glad that he would finally have someone nearby who shared similar interests to him.

It was getting late and Booth knew that he would have to leave now or his grandfather would ground him for a month. He politely said goodbye to Brennan's foster parents and thanked them for inviting him, to which he was told he was always welcome. He then said goodbye to Jack and told him that he would see him soon and asked 'man to man' if he could keep an eye on Brennan for him. Jack, who was mature for his age, had noticed their connection and agreed to make sure she was ok and told Booth he would let him know other wise.

Brennan then walked Booth down the driveway to his car and unlocked the gate for him. He pulled her into him and kissed her and then hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go. After a few minutes he reluctantly released her and without any words he quickly kissed her again and made his way down to his car. He climbed in and turned on the engine and began to drive away and saw her waving him off when he looked out his rear-view mirror.


	19. Chapter 18

_Thanks for the reviews, I absolutely love getting them. I would love to see the reviews push the 100 mark soon, maybe for this chapter (that may be pushing it, but I can hope :D) Hope you like this next chapter. Please let me know what you think and Enjoy :)_

Chapter 18

Temperance woke up the next morning slightly disorientated, until she remembered where she was. She felt very uncomfortable and strange in such a large room, especially comparing it to her last foster home and her bedroom when her family were still around. She slowly sat up in her bed and noticed a neat pile of clothes at the end, when she moved closer to them she noticed they were school uniforms. She realised that her foster parents were sending her to a private school, which surprised her to say the least. From what she knew, foster parents generally sent their foster children to the least expensive school possible.

This convinced Brennan even more that this home may be different. After quickly getting ready for school, she was downstairs and in the kitchen and found that food for breakfast was out waiting on the table for her. Apparently there was help in this house. She quickly scoffed down as much as she could eat, wanting to be at school early being her first day there. She heard someone coming down the stairs and when she turned to look around she saw that it was Tess coming into the kitchen, looking like she had just stepped out of a magazine.

"Good morning Temperance. Did you sleep well?" she asked in a cheery tone.

"Yes, thank you. Very well," Brennan answered quickly.

"That's good. I see you found your uniform. All your school books and everything you'll need are by the front door. The boy across the road, Jack, said he would be happy to walk with you to school, to show you where to go. He said he would be around at eight if you wanted to take him up on his offer," Tess said pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Ok, thanks," she said, excusing herself and moving back upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. She noticed that Aaron had already left for the day and guessed that Tess was one of those women that stayed at home all day, just one of the nicer ones. Brennan heard a knock at the door and guessed that it was Jack so she quickly finished up and went downstairs. She found Jack talking to Tess when she got there so she quickly grabbed her bag near the door, said goodbye to Tess and left with him. When they were outside of the driveway they began to talk.

"So how was your first night as an unofficial rich kid?" Jack asked trying to make conversation.

"It was ok, a bit weird. A lot different to other places I have lived," she answered.

"Yeah, I can imagine. Let me tell you, you will be craving those 'normal' houses soon, the bigness and flashiness of everything wears of soon," he said a matter-of-factly.

"Hmm, it already is. I already find it weird waking up and know that someone put the clothes and the end of my bed or someone was paid to cook breakfast for me," she answered truthfully.

"Well, just stick with me and I will show you how to have a normal time out of all this craziness," he said smiling at her; she smiled back, glad she may actually have a friend in this place.

* * *

Unfortunately Jack and Brennan only had Chemistry together, so he had agreed to find her at lunch so she wouldn't be alone and introduce her to some of his friends. Surprisingly she had enjoyed her day so far and hadn't really had much of a problem fitting in as much as she had at her previous school, which was a huge relief to her. She had been told by Jack to wait by her locker, as not to get lost in a sea of people, and it wasn't long until she saw him coming towards her and he was leading her towards the cafeteria.

He led her over towards the food first, which he took a lot of, she only a little. Then they were weaving their way through tables and chairs and then outside. Jack eventually had led her to a secluded spot where four boys and one girl were sitting eating their lunch; she guessed these were his friends. Her theory was proven when they all looked up when he approached them and began to question him about who she was.

"Guys this is Temperance Brennan, Brennan, this is everybody," he said. She slightly waved a sat down quickly trying to divert attention off her self. The girl in the group was the first to introduce herself, she had brown curly hair and tanned skin.

"Hi, I'm Ashley, it's nice to meet you and since boys have no manners at all, over there we have Dylan, then Thomas, next to him is Samuel and then we have Kieran," she told Brennan. Brennan nodded before Ashley went to sit back next to Dylan.

"Oh, and Tom before you ask, she doesn't want to go out with you, she has a boyfriend. Save yourself some embarrassment for a change," Jack told the boy named Thomas, who now had turned a bright shade of red.

The rest of lunch had progressed nicely and Brennan had come to find that this group of people were basically the ones who had interests which spanned the board, for instance. Ashley, while being an avid cheerleader had a big interest in biology and wasn't really accepted by the in-crowd and Kieran was a star at basketball, but was a talent at math therefore was seen as a geek. Temperance felt at ease around these people because while, they may seem like the ones who wouldn't give you the time of day they knew what it was like to be discriminated against and ridiculed for stupid reasons and were good to be around. She found it hard to see but, she thought she had actually had found a group of what could become friends at this school and that excited her.

Her day from then on was like any other. She walked home with Jack, which she found enjoyable, they talked on various topics which managed to pass the time quickly. She was surprised when he offered to drive her to visit Booth, when she asked him why he wanted to he told her he was her friend and it would make her happy and he wanted to be away from his house as well, which was a concept she understood especially from her last foster home. She couldn't wait to see Booth and tell him how her day had been, and let him know that things really were looking up.


	20. Chapter 19

_Sorry about the wait, but school is my priority and that has been really hectic. Thanks so much for the awesome reviews, we did it, we got to 100 it makes me feel fantastic, so thanks so much. Here's the next chapter, please let me know what you think :) Enjoy :D_

Chapter 19

The drive to Booth's house wasn't long, but it was made quicker by the fact that she actually had things in common with Jack, so they had things to talk about to pass the time. She learned during that time that he was very insistent on moving as far away from his family's lifestyle when he left school as possible. He was very enthusiastic when it came to anything scientific and she could tell, that whatever he decided to do he would exceed in, even if it was due to pure enthusiasm.

When they arrived at Booth's house he told her he would take her back home again in a couple of hours and politely declined when she invited him to join them. He told her he had other things to do, which she believed. After bidding Jack goodbye, Brennan walked up the steps towards Booth's grandfather's house and quickly knocked on the door, silently hoping that he was actually home. She heard noise from inside so someone was definitely inside, but who exactly had not yet been established.

She saw the door slowly open and saw Booth's brother Jared at the door and then he saw the look of disappointment on his face, "Oh, it's only you. Seeley, you have a visitor," Jared yelled up the stairs after letting her inside the house. Not expecting anyone, Booth slowly made his way downstairs, taking it one step at a time prolonging the process for as long as possible.

"Well, don't look too excited," she said when she saw him. It was only then when he looked up and saw her standing there, which made him practically jump the last few steps. He jumped in front of her and pulled her in for a hug, almost cutting off all circulation. "Yeah, Booth you may have to let go so I can breathe."

"Sorry, Bones I am just so happy to see you…Wait how did you get here?" he asked.

"Jack offered to drive me here, he said he had things to do in this area and guessed I would want to tell you about my first day in person anyway," she said smiling at him.

"That's great, I'm so glad you're here. Hey, let's go for a walk or something and you can tell me all about the new school," he said quickly grabbing his shoes by the front door. He grabbed her hand and led her outside with him and guided her along the sidewalk. "So, how was it?"

"It was good, better than I expected. Umm…Jack came over in the morning and we walked to school together and then he met up with me at lunch and introduced me to some of his friends," she started.

"Oh, yeah. What are they like?" he asked her.

"They seem nice from what I could gather, I was only around them for a while, but so far so good," she told him reassuringly.

"I'm glad then, at least you will have people to sit with." Booth had been extremely worried that she would be let alone like she had been at their school, that was apart from when he annoyed the crap out of her and it was a relief for him to know that she wouldn't be alone. It gave him one less thing to worry about, but only made the thing he was keeping from her more insistent.

"Yep, everything's good so far," Brennan told him smiling. He smiled back at her and leaned down and kissed her for the first time that day.

"So, when is Jack coming to take you home?" Booth asked.

"He said in a couple of hours or so," she answered.

"Alrighty then, we better make the most of it then," he said kissing her again and making it last for as long as possible before they both needed air. They spent the rest of the time talking and filling each other on what had happened in each other's day. But, Booth was faced still with one thing that she hadn't told her and with the end of the school year coming even closer, he was running out of time.

_Reviews…please??_


	21. Chapter 20

**So sorry for the huge wait, it has been a combination of mountains of school work and slight writer's block when it came to this chapter. The updates over the next few weeks may be lacking, but that's only because coming to the end of the semester I am hit with tests and exams so keep that in mind, but I will try to update as often as possible. Thanks so much for the awesome reviews, keep them coming cause they keep encouraging me to continue :) And let me know what you think of this chapter cause I am not sure how it turned out. Enjoy :D**

* * *

Chapter 20

The next few months passed without too much drama. Brennan had a solid friend in Jack and had managed to string up friendships with his friends who made her time at school bearable and for the most part enjoyable. Her relationship with Booth was going strong and despite further away than before they managed to see each other as much as possible. Her foster parents were still just like they were at first, caring and the total opposite to her first ones.

But, Booth on the other hand was dealing with something different. While, yes he could say his relationship with Brennan was going perfectly, he was trying to figure out a way to tell her that he would be leaving her, temporarily. He was going to join the army, the rangers to be more specific, he hadn't exactly gotten the best grades to go to college and since he was injured the previous year; a sports scholarship was out of the question, basically Uncle Sam was his last ticket to get any sort of respectable job, preferably law enforcement.

Booth wasn't scared about what he may have to face in the army, going off to war and facing it head on, what worried him the most was telling that to the most important person in the world to him. He had made up his mind four months ago that this was what he was going to do when he left school, he had spoken to the careers adviser, his teachers, his grandfather, even Jack knew of his plan, but he had put off telling her mainly because he had no idea how to approach it.

Now he was closer to graduating high school so the time to tell her of his decision was looming and he knew the longer he left it, the worse it was going to be. He had organised to stay over at Jack's house on the weekend he graduated, and hoped to see Brennan during that day and tell her then, the only thing he was unsure of now was how she was going to take his impending news.

* * *

It was now the weekend before he was to graduate and the weekend he was staying across the road from her house. He had spoken to Jack and after he had spent most of the day with her new friends the two of them split away from the group, where he hoped he would be able to tell her about his career choice. He managed to find a quiet park, one similar to the one they used to meet up in when she lived close to him and he convinced her to stop there so he could talk to her.

"Why have we stopped here Booth?" she asked him, she could sense he was anxious about something because he had been behaving out of the ordinary all day.

"I need to talk to you about something important Bones," he said to begin with, he still had no idea how to exactly break the news to her, so he thought if he just got the words out he would deal with the rest later.

"What Booth?"

"You know how I am graduating in a week; well I didn't end up finishing with the best scores in the world, which means my options for college are limited. And after the sports scholarship was kind of quashed last year, I have decided my last option is to join the army, the rangers," he said. It wasn't until he finished that he looked at her to gage her reaction.

"Umm…so what would that mean would you have to go and do some special training soon, or what?" she asked after a few minutes. He could tell she was going to hold off her emotions until necessary and focus on the details, and if that's what she wanted for now that's what he was going to give her.

"Well, after I have graduated I will have to register and six weeks into the summer they have a training course which lasts about a month, which I will have to go to. Depending on my skills I may be deployed for combat or not and well we will see from there," he told her. She nodded in response trying to take this new information in. Booth moved closer to her and put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest and held her tight. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pushed her head into his shoulder, and he kissed her forehead, knowing that this was comfort enough for now until she was ready to talk about it more.


	22. Chapter 21

**A bit disappointing on the reviews front, thanks to **_mustanggirlz07, aleja1,_**and** _joy43_** for reviewing the last chapter, hopefully there will be some more for the fact this one came some quickly after the last ;) A head's up for anyone who's worried this story won't go along the path of Booth goes off to the army and then they are separated til the present and they are reunited, it will be different. Here's the next chapter, please review cause I love them and they help the chapters come a little faster. Enjoy :D**

* * *

Chapter 21

"So have you registered yet?" Brennan asked Booth rather abruptly the day before he was set to graduated, almost a week after he had told her about his plans to join the army. This was the first time since then she had brought it up and frankly that unnerved him.

"Umm…why do you ask?" he asked curiously.

"Just wondering?" she said fiddling with the hem of her shirt; it seemed as if she was now regretting her question.

"Oh, well I have registered, since I am already eighteen I could so I thought the earlier I did the less chance I had to put it off," he told her waiting to see how she would react next.

"Oh, okay," she said. He watched her for a minute seeing if she would say anything else, but it seemed that she was still in denial or whatever you wanted to call it and wasn't ready to give her full opinion on the situation and if she didn't want to comment yet, he wasn't going to push her.

* * *

The next day at his graduation she sat with his family which was made up of her, his grandfather and his brother. Luckily no sign of his father, just as he wanted it. Whenever he looked at her, she looked as if she was forcing a smile, like there was something she was hiding. He knew that she was trying to keep some brave face up around him, but she was completely failing because he could see though it and he knew it was only a matter of time until she broke. He just hoped it was before he was set to leave and he was able to pick up the pieces.

After the official ceremony ended Booth searched for his group and it wasn't long before he found them. He saw Hank, with the biggest smile on his face that he had ever seen; no one could deny how proud he was of his grandson. Even Jared who was overly mature was proud of his brother, maybe just knowing they were both safe and sound enough to see this day come. But Booth was the happiest when he saw her, _his _Bones, now with a smile on her face that he knew wasn't forced an was out of genuine happiness for the events that had transpired that day and the milestone it marked. But that didn't mean that either of them forgot what that signalled the approaching of, the day he could be shipped off to a war zone with so much as a day's notice.

* * *

Booth noticed Brennan's happiness waver over the remainder of the day and he knew that he had to try and get her alone somehow. Hank had organised a party in Booth's honour celebrating the end of an era and since he was the main attraction it was difficult to sneak away. After speeches and the right of passage embarrassing stories he managed to pull himself away from the clutches of his 'adoring' fans. He grabbed Brennan's arm and pulled her around the front of the house and they began to walk down the street away from all the noise. They eventually ended up at the park, _their _park as he had come to think of it and he pulled her to where he knew they wouldn't be found.

"Hey, I haven't really been able to talk to you all day," he said when he had pulled her down to sit next to him on the grass.

"Yeah, well that was to be expected, considering what today was," she replied.

"I know, but I really wanted to spend time with you, not with them, I mean they are all friends of my grandfathers and people I see all the time. I mean the time we get to see each other is limited," he said. She nodded unsure of how to respond, some of her hair fell in front of her face and he didn't hesitate to lift his hand up and push it behind her ear. He then leaned in and kissed her slowly and waited for her to respond, when she did, she placed her hand on his cheek and they sat there for a few minutes and kissed. When they pulled back he noticed tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he asked wiping away a lone tear that had fallen.

"Tess and Aaron said that we are going away this summer, they apparently want to give me the full summer vacation treatment, Jack's family is coming too," she said, more tears had begun to fall.

"But, I don't understand that's great isn't it, this means they want to do things for you and love you," he said not getting why she was so upset.

"But, I won't be able to see you, what if when after your training you are sent off straight away and I never see you again," she said. Now it clicked in his mind, she was terrified that her leaving and having a good time would mean that they would be separated and in turn they would be parted for good. Booth pulled his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest, rubbing his hand up and down her back.

"Shh, it's ok, don't worry. Whatever happens, if I am sent off, I promise you, I promise you that we will be together again not matter what, ok," he put his finger under her chin so he was looking into her eyes, "I love you Bones, I promise you nothing will keep us apart as long as I am still breathing I will come and find you and if for some reason you are moved out of the Sanders' home I will find you, ok. Don't worry." She didn't know what to say other than nod, he leant down and kissed her quickly and reassuringly and then pulled her back against his chest calming her down.

* * *

_Review please?_


	23. Chapter 22

_Thanks all you awesome people who reviewed the last chapter, I can't thank you enough :) Sorry about the delay for this one, I've hit exam time and studying is my priority, well it is in theory. I wrote this rather late so I was half asleep and I am not sure how it turned out so let me know your thoughts. Hopefully the next chapter won't take too long! Please leave a review on your way out, it would be much appreciated. Enjoy :D _

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Chapter 22

Brennan woke up one morning a week after Booth's graduation completely out of sorts. Today was the beginning of her vacation with her foster parents and it was a massive understatement to say she was feeling a little apprehensive about it all. She was able to appreciate that they, unlike most foster parents she had heard of, were going out of there way to make her feel like part of a real family. But, honestly the timing couldn't be worse.

She was absolutely terrified about Booth's impending leave for army training, and those fears were heightened knowing she would be elsewhere when he left. Although rationally she knew that it was only training, nothing like the big leagues and nothing serious could happen, but she knew from his determined and dedicated nature that he would excel and ultimately be sent off soon after training was completed. That was what scared her the most, Booth being shipped off without notice and her potentially loosing him forever.

The other end of the scale was the possibility that while Booth was in training or deployed, she was moved out of the Sanders' house and placed somewhere else. Once again she knew that she had Jack who would be able to inform Booth of where she was or vice versa, or she could use Jared, Booth's brother for contact. But she found it all too risky. If she had learnt anything worthwhile in the past six or so months it was to not to trust the system, because she could be sent anywhere at anytime to anyone.

She finally rose from her bed and made her way downstairs, very much dreading that day.

**

* * *

**

Booth managed to charm his Pops' car for the day, surprisingly after not much convincing. Somehow in that 'creepy' way that adults 'just know', Hank had an idea about what was to occur the coming day and managed to keep Jared busy so Booth could sneak out without becoming his little brother's chauffeur. Booth was feeling similarly to how his girlfriend was that day, terrified. It was finally hitting him that they were going to be separated for three months at the most and depending on him perhaps longer.

But, he could also understand why Brennan was completely freaking out over the situation they were in. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was scared over the possibility that she could be moved. It wasn't about not being able to find her that instilled fear in him, he knew he would search the ends of the earth until he found her; it was the fear that she could be moved to a place that was the complete opposite to the one she was in currently. That she could suffer pain and abuse all over again, but this time with the possibility that he may not be able to save her.

And what about when the time came for him to be sent off to an unknown location. He knew in his heart of hearts that he wouldn't slack off to avoid the opportunity of fighting for his country no matter what was at stake. But, what would happen when he was unable to contact her for weeks and months at a time, would they be pushed apart? Would they lose each other? Once again deep down he knew what the two of them shared was stronger to outlive anything, but it didn't stop the doubts and nigglings of fear imbedded in the back of his mind.

Booth was now realising how dependent each other's lives were on other peoples word and orders. Like a house of cards, one gush of wind and it could all come tumbling down.

**

* * *

**

Booth arrived at her house early that morning, well early by his standards, in the attempts to catch her before she left for her vacation. They had said there goodbyes the day before, and he had been trying to reassure her all week about the trip, but he felt the need to see her again, especially since he didn't have an exact timeline on when he would again. Luckily he had been to the house so often now that he had worked out how to open the gate to the expansive driveway that lead up to the house and didn't need to call ahead.

After managing to let himself onto the property he cautiously made his way up the driveway, cautiously because he was still convince a property like this had vicious dogs hidden somewhere ready to attack. He made it 'safely' to the front door and rang the doorbell, praying that this family wasn't ones who hit the road in the wee hours of the morning. He was relived when he heard _her _voice yelling somewhere inside the monstrosity of a house that she would get the door, and it wasn't long before he was met by her now smiling face.

She had her arms around his neck in a few short seconds, almost causing him to lose his balance. Her face was quickly buried into his shoulder and she was hugging him like she would never let him go.

"Bones, hey what's this?" he asked taken aback by her string response to seeing him. He was glad she was obviously happy to she him, but he knew something else was going on.

"I just thought I wouldn't get to see you again before we left and I was thinking a lot this morning. And well I guess I'm just glad you're here," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"What did I tell you about thinking, huh, it can cause all sorts of trouble," he told her jokingly. At his words she pulled back and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Fine, then," she said with a slight smile on her face. He was quick to pull her back towards him and wrap his arms around her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, calm down, I always appreciate all you are willing to give me," he said whipping out his charm smile for safe measure. She smiled back at him and leaned up and placed a quick kiss on his lips before placing her head on his chest, where she felt the most comfortable. "So, do you reckon you are going to survive without me?" he asked her.

Slightly lifting her head she looked into his eyes and shook her head, "Nope, I think we should both stay right here in this spot and not move."

"Hmm, I am liking that idea right now, although I think someone will notice eventually," he told her.

"Who cares," she said. Booth stayed another hour and for that hour they stayed as she wanted, right in that spot, unmoving for anyone. They didn't need to speak to know exactly how each other were feeling about what was happening, one look said it all. Before he left, he kissed her like he never had before, passionate, soft and reassuring all at the same time. A promise between the pair that no matter what challenges they were to face between now and the time they saw each other again, they would overcome them leaps and bounds.


	24. Chapter 23

**Ok, first off sorry about the delay in updating. I had exams and then I had the fourth throat infection I have had all year and then my laptop decided to die on me…so good times :( This is pretty much a filler chapter, nothing startling but I am starting the next chapter now so I should have it up soon. Please review and Enjoy :D**

Chapter 23

It had been three weeks since he had seen her. Luckily for him it had not been a total loss of contact, a few days earlier she had sent him a postcard from where she was staying. She had managed to say everything that made it obvious to him that she was having a miserable time without him but was keeping up the charade for her foster parents. But, she was saying good things about her time with Jack and it seemed that she had made a friend for life in him and he was keeping her sane while she was away from Booth.

Booth on the other hand didn't have a handy distraction. He had nothing ahead of him other than his impending army training, which had the potential of separating the couple even more. Six weeks had never felt so long; while he was confident of his decision to enlist he still had those uneasy feelings he assumed anyone in his situation would have. He knew that deep down it was the only thing he could do without completely letting himself down and he continued to remind himself of that as the days drew closer.

He had decided to use this Bones-free time to spend as much time with his Pops and brother as he could, because in all honesty he didn't know when he would see them again either. Hank had noticed that his grandson was missing Brennan and had aided in keeping his spirits up as much as possible. Booth actually felt more relaxed because of this leading up to his departure, because he was sure that if Brennan was around he would find it very difficult to leave.

* * *

She felt alone and was slowly detaching. She knew that despite her foster parents best efforts to make this summer a memorable one, she knew that she would only become a problem for them. Brennan was constantly reminded of the vacations she had gone on not too long ago with her family. Those were the only times when she was able to let everything go and be herself without constant crude remarks being thrown her way. She had her brother to herself away from his 'popular' friends and she felt like she mattered and that she had a place other than to sit in a library and read.

It didn't help her to feel excited or sociable when she knew that Booth was leaving in a few short weeks and she couldn't be there to see him off. She had grown rather anxious recently, knowing that their 'fate' as Booth would probably refer to it could be decided solely on his performance at his training. While she knew that he would be highly determined which would allow him to excel, she felt slightly selfish in knowing there was a small part in her that hoped he wouldn't. And that feeling made her feel extremely guilty.

Jack had been hanging around her more as the days went by, he to aware of what the weeks were leading up to. He knew that if she were to stuff this trip up, and become detached completely from her foster parents she could jeopardise her placing there. He had heard small things about the foster system and what he had heard wasn't pretty, he knew that if she could make this work, it would definitely be an advantage for her.


	25. Chapter 24

**Sadly, only three reviews after the last chapter, so thanks to those that did review :) Luckily this chapter didn't take too long, so would love to see feedback, it really makes my day :D Enjoy and please leave a review on your way out :)**

Chapter 24

Today was the big day, the day that could lead to the changing of two lives in an instant.

Booth hadn't slept at all the night before, constantly being interrupted by morbid thoughts of what could happen at war. He knew it was stupid to think like that, especially since he was only leaving for training, but subconsciously he knew he would be doing the best he could and it would be a real possibility that he would be sent to war. That, paired with constant thoughts of his girlfriend miles away didn't help with the bout of insomnia he was suffering from.

He woke early that morning and was dressed in his mandatory uniform as quickly as possible. While he didn't have to leave until late morning, he didn't want to waste anytime he had left with his grandfather and brother, especially given the uncertainty of hi future. When he went downstairs to the kitchen he found Hank already up, seemingly having the same idea Booth had.

"Morning, Shrimp," Hank said when his grandson entered the room.

"Good morning Pops," Booth answered, he strode across the kitchen towards the bench where coffee was already made. Hank turned on his chair to face Booth and took a good look at him in all his gear.

"So, big day today?" Hank said more as a statement than a question.

"Yep," Booth was unsure of what to say, and luckily before he left an awkward silence Jared entered the room.

"Well, look at this. Seeley actually shaved and showered this morning, must be a special occasion," Jared teased walking past Booth, as he did Booth pulled Jared into a headlock, as brothers would do.

"Come on boys, really do we have to be like that today," Hank was trying to make today as peaceful as possible and didn't want any of his two grandsons antics ruining that. "Seeley, can I talk to you for a minute," Hank hardly ever called him Seeley, so Booth knew that this was either very serious or very important. Hank gestured towards the living room and the two sat down on the couch.

"What's this about Pops?" Booth asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Today you are entering the real world; you are 'leaving the nest' as they say. And well we don't know exactly for how long that is going to be, and while I know that you are string and capable, I still feel worried about not being there to protect you," Hank began, Booth could see that this was hard for his grandfather and automatically put his hand on his Pops' shoulder to offer some form of support, to which Hank placed his own hand on top. "I got you something, small, but it will help you while you are gone, protect you when I should be and keep you safe."

Hank dug around in his pockets and Booth was curious to what he was going to be presented with. After a few moments of rummaging around he found what he was looking for, he pulled out a small silver medallion on a silver chain and handed it to Booth.

"It's Saint Christopher, the patron saint of…" Hank began.

"Or travellers, yeah I know," Booth said interrupting his grandfather.

"I thought with you going away, and for who knows how long and to where, you could need all the luck you could get," Hank said, Booth had no words that seemed worthy enough at that point, so he settled on hugging Hank with all he had to show his appreciation.

* * *

Brennan woke anxious and nervous; she was fully aware of what today was and couldn't help feeling that way. Her whole vacation had been tainted with the anticipation of this day arriving and now that it had she didn't know what to do. She couldn't stand at the airport and bid him farewell like they did in the movies and didn't think she could contact him, so basically she was stuck uncertain of how to proceed for the day.

If she were to be completely honest she would say she had enjoyed her time away, she had some distraction from all the things occurring back at home. But, after nearly six weeks of basically doing nothing, thoughts about her family were seeping in. She would do something which reminded her only remotely of when her family was around and that pushed her back into the shell she had begun to slowly come out of.

…

Jack had seen the waves of despair that Brennan was floating in and out of and he knew that she needed something, one small thing to keep her at bay. He had been mulling over it for nearly a week and it wasn't until the day before Booth had to leave that the light bulb went of in his head. He knew the perfect way to pull her back even if it was only slightly, and help her avoid being sent to a different foster home, for lack of involvement in family activities.

* * *

Jack knocked on her door at 8.30 that morning; he knew she usually stayed in her room for as long as possible to avoid all the commotion of her foster parents and his parents. He heard a faint 'come in' and quickly entered the room, not wanting to waste any more time.

"Phone for you," he said, holding it out towards her.

"I didn't hear it ring," she told him very matter-of-factly.

"That's because it didn't," Jack held the phone closer to Brennan urging her to talk to whoever was on the other line. Brennan looked at Jack quizzically before holding the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bones," the voice answered very casually.

"Booth," she answered in a state of shock and disbelief. "How?"

"Jack called me and said you were a bit down in the dumps. He thought without six weeks of contact, you could at least speak to me before I leave," Booth answered. Brennan looked at Jack who was leaving the room, he turned to look at her and saw her mouth 'thank you', which let him know this was exactly what she needed. Jack then left the room leaving the two to talk in private.

"I am so happy to hear your voice," she said, speechless and unsure of what to say in what she expected would be a short call.

"Me too," he said, in the same boat as her, wanting to say so much in such little time. For a few minutes the two sat by the phone content and listening to the other breathe, until Booth broke the silence. "You know I have to leave today, and well I am glad I can talk to you before that. I want you to remember that whatever happens, we _will_ be together, nothing will break what we have and I won't let you disappear from my life. I love you, Bones, and I won't let anything come between us, that's a promise," he said with thick emotion in his voice.

Brennan didn't know how to match his words, so settled with answering, "I love you too."

They remained silent for a few more minutes; both feeling safe knowing the other was there. Booth then reluctantly said goodbye, the hardest goodbye he had made. He knew that he would keep his promise and she felt the same way he did, but it didn't aid him in ending the call. Brennan eventually heard the dial tone, indicating to her that he was gone. For one of the first times since her parents left she curled up on her bed and let tears escape her. She was shedding tears for the horrible uncertainty that faced them and the days ahead she would face worrying about their future.


	26. Chapter 25

**Sorry this has taken so long, things just get busy. This is another short, filler type chapter and a warning the chapters after this will be rather disjointed, you will see what I mean. Please read and review :) Enjoy :D**

Chapter 25

It had been three weeks since he had left. Brennan was now back in her foster parent's home and was now struggling more and more with the fact that Booth wasn't twenty minutes away. Surprisingly she had managed to keep up a façade of happiness when others were around, that was the only thing that had kept her in the same place. She knew rationally it was best if she stayed with them; they treated her like a person for one and they had gone out of their way to make her feel welcome and like she belonged; but there was also a part of her that wanted out of there, away from the memories of him that were now constantly clouding her mind.

She was lucky to have a friend like Jack nearby and so understanding. She had never had anyone, other than Booth that is, show any interest in her life. While Booth was away he took the role of making sure she was as happy as she could be and that she ate. He was like an over-protective brother most of the time and it pained her to remember that a one point in time she actually had one of those, but now she had to make do with what was in front of her.

Brennan was very much aware that Booth was perfectly safe for now, but when she saw anything related to 'war', she instantly felt sick. She was intelligent, and she knew Booth well and those things combined made her very much aware that he had a very strong possibility of being one of those on the frontline. It made her heart ache thinking about the possibility; she just hoped that for once in her life she was wrong about something.

* * *

Booth was struggling, not physically but emotionally everything was coming down on him. He had absolutely now trouble following orders; he could do whatever he was told and regardless of what that was he did it to the best of his ability. But, three weeks away from home and a familiar environment, he was struggling to find the point in all of this. And when it came to that he was reminded of all those who had served before him, his patriotism shone through and he was back, in the closest to right, headspace.

He was surrounded by people day and night, it made it very hard to get any thinking time in. Whenever he did have any quiet time all he thought about was his girlfriend back home, he knew she would be back at the Sanders' house now and he just hoped she wasn't making a difficult situation for herself. He was very much aware that she tended to recluse into herself when put in times such as this, and he also knew that it wasn't the most attractive thing when it came to a foster child.

When he wasn't thinking of _his _Bones, he thought about his grandfather and brother also back home. His Pops certainly wasn't getting any younger, and he couldn't get rid of the pang of guilt he felt when he thought of the two of them being left alone. He felt it was his duty to be there for his family and being away was a painful reminder of just that. As much as he wanted to serve his country and make some vague sense of an opportunity for himself, he wished he had other options other than the one he was pursuing.

**Don't forget to review on your way out, and get this closer to 150 reviews!**


	27. Chapter 26

**Sorry for the delay, but slight writers block with this one. Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter, with ten received for that one I was ecstatic! Please love hearing what you think, so if you have this on alert but don't review I would love to hear something from you even if it's anonymous. This chapter was meant to have a little more at the end, but I figured you needed something, so I will try to incorporate it in the next chapter. Anyway that's all from me, just hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think :D**

_October 30__th__ 1992_

She hadn't been moved yet, that in itself was a miracle.

For the last two months she had been walking around like someone had died. In a sense some part of her had died, luckily not to the extent that was possible. Her foster parents somehow had managed to put up with her; they were tolerating her depressed tendencies and crappy moods. She was amazed that they, like she expected them to, didn't give up and decide to trade her in for someone who was slightly less broken and ungrateful.

Thankfully, she had mellowed to some extent over the last few weeks, mostly due to Jack. He managed to warn her off what may happen if she didn't cheer up considerably, because it was inevitable the regardless of how nice her foster parents were, even they would eventually get sick of they way she was acting. She took his bluntness and advice to heart, but managed to pull herself out of the hole she had been digging herself into.

But, despite her turn around there were times she would remember the days only a month and a half earlier which had pulled her deeper into her pit of despair.

* * *

_September 13__th__ 1992_

_Brennan was pleased with herself. She had managed to get through another week of school without consequence. She had come to find that a week at any school was an achievement when you were in her situation, so ticking off another one was cause for her own private celebration. Finally she had some sort of a place somewhere, she had some-what close to a best friend, Jack and by extension had other people she could consider friends. _

"_Hey, Brennan," Jack managed to catch up with her after she fled school as fast as possible._

"_Hi," she replied softly._

"_So…why did you leave so fast today?" he asked curious by her behaviour. It hadn't been long ago that she had managed to hang around after school and actually engage in some social interaction._

"_I just didn't feel like staying around there anymore," she said quickly and sped up her pace. Jack quickly matched her stride, not wanting her to escape his questioning._

"_Come on," he nudged her shoulder, "what's wrong? You have been so quiet lately and I haven't seen you quite like this since you first cam here."_

"_I just didn't want to face the questions. Ashley has been asking me questions about Booth, and since I have no idea what is going on with him I feel awkward," she told him coming to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk._

"_Don't get so worried about it. If it's easier just ignore her and pretend you didn't hear her, not to be mean but she doesn't have the best attention span and she'll forget what she asked you quickly," Jack said, feeling successful when he saw a small smile on her face. The two continued to walk home in compatible silence, Brennan unaware of what was waiting for her._

…

_Brennan had parted ways with Jack at the top of the street and was in was in a better mood than she had been all day. She was three houses down from her foster parents' when she saw a eerily familiar car parked outside. As she got closer she saw the occupant and she felt her stomach and heart simultaneously drop. Her pace has slowed significantly and her heart ate was elevated, she had no idea what was coming next but she was extremely anxious._

_She eventually got within speaking distance with the occupant of the car and she knew she couldn't turn back now._

"_Hello," he said, moving towards her._

"_Umm… Hi," she replied. She was unsure of how to behave in this situation; it wasn't like he had come around for a friendly chat._

"_So, how have you been holding up?" he asked trying to find a point of conversation._

"_Not as bad as I expected," this was a total lie; she was a mess, "What about you?" She could already she the answer to her question written all over his face. Dark rims under his eyes, pale features and she also noticed indicators that he had lost weight._

"_Ah, you know, I am holding up as best I can. I mean I have to for Jared's sake, it's hard enough for him as it is without be being unreliable." Brennan could tell by Booth's grandfather's expression that there were new developments and it was obvious he was here to inform her._

"_Why are you really here?" she asked wanting this to be over as soon as possible._

"_Straight to the point there, aren't you?" he said chuckling uneasily. She slightly narrowed her eyes, desperately wanting to hear whatever information he had. "Well, to put a long story short, I don't know when we will be seeing Seeley again. Not in a morbid way, but due to his duties it is unlikely as I have been told 'that we will be seeing much of him in the foreseeable future'." _

_Brennan could tell what he meant. Booth had been deployed, her worst nightmare, but what she had been expecting for the last month. _

"_What exactly is happening?" she asked wanting to know as much as was possible._

"_Well, from what they could tell me beyond confidentiality is that he has been chosen for a string of high-level importance 'missions'. They don't really have a time-frame for it, from the sounds of it he could be travelling back and forth between various places. I asked to speak with him, but for some stupid reason I couldn't, and it is likely we won't have any contact with him until he has finished this mission of theirs," Brennan remained focused as Hank explained this as best he could without becoming emotional._

_She must have let the emotional turmoil that was rushing through her become evident on her face, because in a matter of minutes Hank had stepped forward and wrapped the teenager in a hug. This show of compassion had prompted the tears she had been holding back to come flowing out. While being comforted, Brennan began to think of how lucky Booth was to have a grandfather like this. She eventually pulled back but made no move to wipe away the remnants of tears on her tear-stricken face._

"_How did you find me? I mean, how did you know where I was?" she asked now curious. Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper._

"_Seeley left this with me the day he left. Told me to keep you updated on anything that was going on and basically wanted me to be aware of where you were," he said showing her the paper. Brennan began to tear up again at Booth's thoughtfulness, just another thing to prove what he told her before he left._

"_Ok," was all she could say and nodded simply._

"_My dear, just remember, you are most welcome at any time. Seeley regards you with a great deal of importance, and he loves you, so by extension you are important to me too. Don't be a stranger, sometimes you need someone just to listen, I would be more than honoured to be that person."_

_Brennan was touched by his kind words and the obvious sincerity of them and this forced her to hug Hank again and gain comfort of some form._


	28. Chapter 27

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, was a bit disappointing to see only a few but I will take what I can get. This chapter as you will notice came quicker than the last one and is more Booth-centric. Please those you haven't reviewed would love to hear from you. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

Chapter 27

_November 1992 [unknown location]_

He was hiding in plain sight, well as much in plain sight as you could while in full camouflage.

Booth had gotten used to finding hiding spots by now; he had been in this place almost two months and had become very accustomed to the behaviour required with his duties. Awkwardly at first he had learned all the techniques in hiding and staying hidden and at the last minute being able to release with precision and impeccable aim. He had learnt a dirty trade, something that in the future he knew he wouldn't be proud of knowing. But, he had enough sense to know that at this point in time what he was doing was of great importance.

Of course with the acceptance of classified duties, he was faced with times in which he wished he could forget about honour and importance and have the courage to end it. There were downfalls with the abilities he offered, one being the constant fear that he had seen the last of his loved ones a couple of months ago. It was this that scared him more than any hit he may take, to have lost his time and to leave people behind terrified him.

She was always in his thoughts, mostly at the most inopportune time. He often found it hard to separate the thoughts running around in his head from the situation staring him in the face. It was usually small things that reminded him of things he was missing, and still in such a small time he had learnt slightly how to cope with missing the things at home, even just blocking everything out even when he knew he shouldn't helped him get through the long nights. But, he always found that those thoughts couldn't be suppressed for long.

* * *

_October 1992_

_He was lying in the dirt flat on his back. At times such as this, they were forced to utilise the area as much as possible, before setting off again the next day._

_She was on his thoughts again, as she usually was at this time of night. While she wandered in and out of his mind throughout the day, it was only now that he could really focus. Things were different that night, the circumstances he was thinking under were new. Toady, his time, was a special day, an important one he felt should be marked everywhere just because of what it brought to the world years ago._

_It was her 16__th__ birthday._

_An important day for anyone, girl's especially but boys too understood the significance. But, in her case it was one that marked things differently to others. It was the reminder that she was alone, now more than ever and Booth was very much aware that night of how alone she would be feeling that day. He knew that she would shy away and hide behind the wall she had expertly constructed and would avoid mentioning the significance of the day to anyone._

_Luckily Booth knew that she would want some comfort that day, he knew her better than anyone and had done all he could weeks before. The simple act of sending two letters had made him feel confident that she would feel remembered and not lonely._

"_Dear Pops,_

_Yes, I know I haven't contacted you like I promised. But, I do have an excuse, I am so busy and I just don't have time. So consider this me contacting you but with an ulterior motive. Anyway I just want to let you know first of I am safe and not getting into too much trouble, so please sleep soundly and don't worry about me._

_Now on to the real reason for me sending this. I know I asked you before I left if you could possibly keep an eye on someone for me. I really hope you have been able to, because that will help me sleep easier. So, her birthday is next week and I know she won't want a big fuss made about it, but I really don't want her to feel alone. If possible could you maybe be able to stop past her house that day or something, just inconspicuously. _

_Sorry this is so short I have to rush it. I love you and I am keeping as safe as I can._

_Thanks for your help,_

_Shrimp 'Seeley'"_

…

"_Hodgins,_

_How you doing? Hope life's treating you well, unlike me. This is going to be short because I don't have much time, but I am telling you this in confidence. Man, it's Brennan's birthday next week and obviously I can't be there. So if you could possibly do me the smallest favour I would be really grateful. Please don't let anyone else know what say it is, but if you could maybe give her a hug from me and give her this card. I would love if you could do this for me; I owe you big time when I come stateside. _

_Anyway keep safe and out of trouble and I hope to see you soon._

_Booth."_


	29. Chapter 28

**Sorry about the wait, I have had so much on and once I wrote this chapter I didn't have internet access. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, would love to see some more. I would especially love feedback on this chapter, just to know how I did on this subject. The next chapter is almost finished and should be up in a few days. Enjoy and let me know what you think :D**

_February, 1993_

Booth was torn. Torn between duty and what his guilt was telling him was right.

He had been in active duty for about six months and all through those six months he had been faced with more destruction and despair than he had seen in his entire life. He knew as soon as he had signed up that it wasn't all going to be fun times and sunshine, but he had completely underestimated the severity of the situation that he was being thrown into. He had to follow the most excruciating orders and then was faced with the heart-wrenching guilt that followed his actions.

He was almost at his breaking point. A point that, surprisingly, he hadn't reached as of yet in his already harrowing life.

Every time he received a new order from the big bosses he always felt resentment and regret for the path he had chosen, the guilt would build up to an almost an uncontrollable level. It almost got to the point where he chickened out and didn't go through with it. But then he felt gutless and like a coward and his patriotic duty overwhelmed his morals and his hand forced him to pull the trigger. Each time he hit his target it was another number in his head, the current tally was 24.

...

"Hey Booth," Teddy came up behind Booth and sat next to him.

"Teddy, what's up?" Teddy Parker was one of the younger recruits, like Booth, and the two had formed a 'brother'-like bond since they arrived.

"Ahh, you know, the usual," Teddy gave Booth a cheeky grin, "I noticed you were down in the dumps. Your girl dump you or something?"

"Come on Parker, who would give up any of this," Booth said grinning. He had told Teddy all about Brennan, finding it to be cathartic in the hellhole. "Nah, just today was rough man. I just don't know how much more I can take." There was a long pause before Teddy spoke up.

"Look, the way I see it, we are doing things that out in the 'real' world would be the worst thing imaginable. But, here we are doing our jobs and yes it is horrible but in the long run we are saving more lives than we take, we are saving innocent people's lives. And all we can do is remember that we wouldn't do this out in the real world and that it's our country and innocent people we are protecting."

Booth sat silent processing what Teddy had said, he made it a 'mantra' each time he was sent out and then at times the guilt drifted away.

* * *

_August, 1992_

_Sweat drenched his forehead. He could feel his usually dry palms begin to moisten and his eyes began to water. He dropped his weapon and wiped his forearm across his face, trying to clear his vision. His hands were slightly shaky, but given the situation that was expected. _

_He had only arrived two days earlier and immediately he had been thrown into the deep end. Booth had received his first orders and was moved off the base to a confidential location. _

_Nerves, fear, anxiety and about twenty other emotions were affecting him at that moment. He was miles away from home and while he knew this was the only place he could be, the only place he wanted to be was back home. He now felt the overwhelming urge to run, go AWOL and just disappear, he knew that was stupid but, in his current frame of mind it seemed like the only logical thing to do._

_Booth shook his head of all his thoughts and focused on his current task. He could see his target in perfect view, but there were too many people. He had to wait, there was a moment when there would be the perfect window of opportunity, he had to aim and wait out that time until he would be able to strike._

_It felt like hours that he was crouched there waiting, but in reality it was only a few minutes. He recognised the moment and was ready to pull the trigger. Booth only felt a slight hesitation before his finger moved and fired the trigger... He had done it; he knew well enough not to stick around for the aftermath. That would make his hiding redundant. He felt the first pile of guilt pack itself on to his shoulders and his mind began its invisible tally._

_Current Tally: 1_


	30. Chapter 29

**Well, here is another chapter, luckily for you guys a quick update. Thanks to **_Luna Vampire Princess, joy43, ashley286, RoseJean Belikov Salvatore and Musiclover14_ **for the reviews on the last chapter. There should be only two or three chapters left for this story, so hopefully I will get them up soon. Please let me know what you think if this one and Enjoy :)**

_May, 1994_

Memorable and life-changing days had become more frequent for Brennan over the last few years. Of course they weren't always memorable for the right reasons, but all of them altered her life in some way: some more significant than others.

This day was no exception.

She had reached the end of the line, finally she had arrived at the day she had been dreading and yearning for. She would finally be free. Free from authority, free from restrictions and free from the state. As exciting as it was it was very much so a daunting prospect. In one week she had managed to get emancipated from the state, as she was still seventeen for a few months, and also today was the day she would graduate from high-school.

So in layman's terms today would qualify as a life-changing day.

Unfortunately, there is always an unnecessary moment that is remembered on these kinds of days, a moment much rather to have been treasured than despised. She had dreamed of this day for years, more so in the recent years as it was more than what it seemed for her. She had come to realise of late, the incredible significance this day held, and as she had no immediate family to share the day with she had been expecting other, just as important people to help mark the day. Out of the two people she wished to be there the most, only one showed up.

Sadly she was well aware of the pathetic reason that _he _didn't show.

Booth had arrived home four months earlier and while Brennan had expected a change in him, she had certainly not been expecting that. Looking out on the small crowd that was gathered for her today, she felt a smile creep on her face, as it proved to her she had changed in the last couple of years. Changed enough to have people caring for her and found herself caring for them.

However, her smile faded as she thought about how this day would be tainted, all because she couldn't help him.

* * *

_January, 1994_

_Excited, thrilled and overjoyed. Three words that failed to describe the exact emotions she was currently feeling._

_He was home, albeit it wasn't permanent, but she had still had the chance to see him after months apart. She had seen him for the first time three days ago, and while he was mostly like himself there was something in him that was different. He was overly anxious and jumpy, which is partly expected after what he had been through, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was behind his behaviour. After mentioning her concerns to Jack, he told her that he was probably slightly affected by his 'mission' and he would be fine._

_Jack's words made her slightly less concerned, but her worries hadn't ceased completely._

_..._

_Luckily for her, Brennan had managed to remain at the Sanders' house for the remainder of her time in foster care. Fortunately for her they were willing to put up with her moods and accepted that she wasn't going to be perfect like some foster families expected._

_She was in her room when he arrived. She had heard feet stumbling up the driveway, but passed it off as nothing. It was then she heard the pounding on the door, and before she managed to get there in time the loud, shrill rings of the doorbell began. Luckily she was home alone; otherwise she would have a lot of explaining to do. It was now a week since he had returned and while she knew a week wasn't long enough to get back into the right routine; she hadn't been expecting this._

_Brennan opened the door and was immediately faced with the stench of alcohol. That mixed with body odour and smoke, she thought she would be sick. _

"_Hey Bones how are you?" Booth said as she answered the door. She hinted the slight slurring of his words and deduced that he was the source of the smell._

"_You're drunk," she said more as a statement than a question._

"_Well, maybe a little tipsy," he said in a hushed tone, almost as if people were listening._

"_What have you been doing?" she asked him, not expecting a logical answer from him in this state._

"_I went to Vegas, baby. The bright lights and the sounds...ah, it was beautiful," for a moment Booth's eyes glazed over before he resumed talking, "I played some machines and wow Bones I played a lot of Craps, I became quite good at it. Then I lost...so I drove back here and went to a bar and had a few drinks. Then here I am coming to visit my beautiful girlfriend," throughout his entire speech he was unfocused and slurring his words. _

"_How did you get here?" she asked now concerned about whether he drove or not. _

"_Took a cab, by the way I may need to borrow some cash to get home," he said in a dejected voice. Brennan sighed and pulled a few dollars out of her pocket and shoved them into his hand and began pushing him away from the door._

"_Booth you have to go home and sleep this off, they can't see you here, otherwise I will be on trouble," Brennan knew well enough that her foster parents wouldn't be impressed to see a drunk Booth and their door and Brennan wasn't sure what that could mean for her._

"_But I don't want to go, I came here to see you," he said trying to stop her efforts at getting him into a cab._

"_I'll see you later, when you are sober, now go home," this time her voice had a tougher and stricter tone, to which surprisingly he listened to. He was in the cab and on his way leaving Brennan confused. She never expected to see him in that state, and didn't expect him to show up broke because he gambled his money away. She knew this must be all brought on by his experiences over there, but regardless of the reasons she desperately hoped that he wouldn't remain that way for long._


	31. Chapter 30

**Sorry about the super long wait, but it has gotten to the business end of the year and school work has just been unavoidable. But, luckily school is almost finished and I will have more time for other things. Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter and alerts, favourites etc, they are great and very encouraging. This is the second last chapter, hopefully the last chapter won't be too far off. Enjoy this one and let me know what you think :)**

**

* * *

Chapter 30**

_October, 1998 _

She had finally gotten there.

One of the advantages of being a genius involved being able to impress the heads of places of such prestige like the Jeffersonian. She had made it through college in a short four years all, which included receiving her doctorate and fast becoming one of the most respected forensic anthropologists in the country.

At the young age of twenty-two, she had already managed to be published in the country's top scientific journal and had quickly out-grown any positions in less than impressive institutions.

Brennan was almost unstoppable. She had left behind her past and successfully achieved a balance in her working life which fulfilled all her intellectual needs. She finally had an outlet, one which didn't stifle her intelligence or try to hold her back. She was glowing in the knowledge that she would now do anything she pleased and it would all be appreciated with helpful tips and constructive criticism.

Thus far, the only thing missing from her life was companionship. Not that she was completely alone in the world but, currently her boyfriend was miles away indefinitely.

A few months prior to her completing her doctorate and receiving an internship at the Jeffersonian, Booth had decided to join the FBI. As thrilled as Brennan was that he was finally getting his life on track, she was annoyed with the fact that meant he had to leave her once again. He was required to go to Quantico for extended training and due to the fact he had never been involved in law-enforcement, he was required to have enhanced training.

Luckily for him he had been in the army and was used to gruelling hours of physical training, but he wasn't completely used to the constant studying he would be required to do in order to pass completely. Brennan was happy for him, everything she had heard from him in the past few weeks had been positive. She could hear the Booth of old, he was beginning to sound like he was before he joined the army, and for that she was very, very glad.

* * *

_June, 1998_

"_I need to do something," he told her walking in to her apartment._

"_What are you talking about?" Brennan asked Booth after he had let himself in. She followed him over to where he sat on her couch and was ready to listen._

"_I need to start to do something productive. I am sick of feeling useless and like I have no place, I need something else to live for," he stated calmly looking at her directly in the eye._

"_I know that look, you have already decided on something," she answered him matter-of-factly._

"_Well, now that you ask, I have been putting some thought into my life in the last few weeks." _

_Booth for the last three to four months had been turning his life around. He had spent the last few years walking in and out of war zones and each time coming back less than what he was. Most recently he had dropped to his lowest point and had been so in debt and stuck in a depression-like state that Brennan wouldn't see him for days. It had been his grandfather who had finally knocked some sense into him and shown him what he had to live for and what he was risking losing. He had finally in the last few weeks begun to return to his former self and put his life back together._

"_I have thought about it a lot and talked to a few people I know and I have decided," he said slowly, "I want to join the FBI." Brennan was staring at him for a few minutes before she came back to reality._

"_The FBI? You mean, the Federal Bureau of Investigation?" she asked wanting to clarify what she had heard._

"_Yes, that's exactly what I mean. I think it's exactly what I need. I will be able to protect people, actually have a job and it will give me some structure that I have been lacking lately," he said with a glint of excitement in his eye. Brennan noticed quickly that this was something he was excited about and something he was obviously passionate about. She could see the slivers of Booth's old self breaking through and was grateful that something was doing that._

"_That sounds interesting," she answered him honestly._

"_Interesting? What does that mean?" he asked slightly defensively._

"_It means just that interesting. I mean I didn't expect you to be interested in the FBI, but I do acknowledge that it looks like it makes you happy and I will support you in any decision you make," she told him in her rational tone._

"_Really, because you know I would do the same for you," Booth wanted her support desperately and wanted it legitimately._

"_I mean it, whatever you feel the need to do. I support it," she said smiling at him._

"_Thanks Bones," he said capturing her in a bear hug that nearly crushed her, then pulling back and kissing her hard. Brennan noticed then that he hadn't called her Bones for quite a while and realised now she had missed the term of endearment. She smiled at him realising he was already changing and hoped this new attitude would last and only improve._


	32. Chapter 31

**So finally I have reached the end, it has only taken me nearly a year but it is finally finished. Here for all those still reading is the last chapter. Thanks for all those who have reviewed throughout this story, your comments were very encouraging. So, I hope you enjoy this last part and I would love to hear what you think of it :D**

* * *

_2004_

Brennan was working steadily in her office, she had managed to get some time for herself to finish paperwork and hopefully be at home by a reasonable hour. She was content with the only sound being her fingers clicking away on the keyboard; she enjoyed this type of silence. It was comforting to know in this room she could completely lose herself in her work and not have one distraction.

Her concentration was broken at a knock at the door. Irritated she mumbled a response and waited for the door to open.

"Hey Sweetie, so where am I supposed to go?" the woman at the door said excitedly. Brennan's new friend Angela Montenegro had just arrived for her new position at the Jeffersonian, an interruption that was worthy of Brennan's time.

"Hi Ange, We have got you an office around the corner," Brennan said leaping from her seat and guiding her friend out of the office.

"Wow, this is huge, I certainly don't need this much room but i will definitely enjoy it," Angela said as she walked into the impressive room.

"Well, that's it, you have already been shown around the lab and you need to settle in and I need to get back to work," Brennan was quick with her response and left quickly leaving Angela to continue gawking at the room.

...

Jack Hodgins had come a long way since he graduated high school. He had been to college, earned his degrees and doctorates and managed to remove himself from an identity he despised. He was happy; for one of the first times in his life he felt a feeling of pure happiness at how his life was turning out. Not to mention he was also able to work every day with a woman who long ago had fast become one of his best friends.

His life was even more enhanced by the fact that the most beautiful woman he had ever seen had just begun working with them. He was definitely interested in becoming more than just her friend.

Jack was content playing with bugs and particulates, he felt at peace and he felt the whole world cease to exist much like Brennan felt when it came to her Bones. This was why it took him a few minutes to realise that his name was being shouted out from across the lab.

"Jack, hey Jack," he heard a familiar voice booming behind him. He turned around to face the visitor and immediately a smile was on his face.

"Booth, man great to see you," Jack said as he and Booth shared a very manly hug,

"Good to see you to. Wow I see nothing has changed, that lab is still...whoa and you totally space out around bugs, which I still don't understand," Booth said with a charming grin on his face.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. So...you're back, I mean I knew you would be back but I wasn't sure when," Jack replied.

"Well it's hard to put a time frame on what I was doing but I tried to get back here as quick as I could," Booth told Jack, "But I am back now, and let me tell you I don't miss being away at all."

"I hear you. So does she know you're here?" Jack asked in a slightly girly voice, he may be all man, but he could help feeling extra happy when he saw Booth put a smile on her face.

"Nope, I thought I would surprise her," Booth said excitedly.

"Wow, you're a brave man," Jack commented.

"I sure am, but I better go find her before she finds me. She in her office?" Booth asked only to be answered with a '_what-do-you-think?' _look. Booth smiled and went off in the direction of her office. As Booth was exiting the platform he passed Angela who he gave his best charm smile to and continued on his way.

"Who was that and where can I get one?" Angela asked when she reached Hodgins on the platform.

"That was Booth, and don't even think about it he's taken," he told her before turning back to his neglected bugs.

"Shame," he heard Angela say before he once again was lost to the world.

...

He had been waiting for this day for months. Since joining the FBI, he had been constantly moved around in departments before he was permanently placed somewhere. His latest stint was with the undercover and special operations sector. For the last six months he had been working on and off directly with undercover operations, most recently he had been right in the action and that had required him to be away for a month.

He hated to be away from Brennan, but he knew that to get a stable position he had to persist and hope that soon enough he would have a full-time position in DC. While Brennan had been completely supportive and understanding regarding all of it, he knew that him being away for great lengths at a time wasn't easy for her. He knew that it probably reminded her of years before when everything was unstable.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he reached her office. He immediately noticed her sitting at her desk with a determined look of concentration on her face. He always thought she looked the most beautiful in these moments, when she was unaware of everything around her and was relaxed in her own way. He knocked on the door to announce his presence and held his breath as he waited for her to look in his direction.

It took a few minutes but finally she turned his head to him and automatically her eyes widened and a huge smile was plastered on her face. Without saying a word she got out of her seat and rushed to him and jumped in his arms. He felt her legs wrap around him and her head bury in her neck and he then finally felt like he was home.

"Booth, you're back," he managed to decipher her saying as she pulled away from him slightly.

"Yep, I am," he answered her grinning.

"I thought you wouldn't be back for a while, you said yourself that it was going to be a long case," she said quickly.

"Well, Bones, I managed to crack the case, so now here I am. Your talk is making me think you're not happy to see me," he teased.

"No, of course I am happy to see you. I am just surprised, that's all," she told him sincerely.

"Good, because I am so glad to be back Bones and do you know what this means now?" he asked her. She just shook her head in response and a puzzled look came across her face.

"It means that I was able to ask for a permanent position in DC, which means I won't be going away anymore," he told her.

"Really," she asked with slight hesitation in her voice.

"Absolutely, I don't want to be away from you anymore Bones," he heard her breathe a sigh of relief. She then kissed him for the first time he had come into her office, and he now felt that everything was right. After the kiss ended due to lack of air he spoke, "So what do you say we get out of here and you catch me up on what has been going on around here?"

"Ok," she said shyly before going to turn off her computer and gather her things. He watched her race around her office and he was amazed that the amazing woman in front of him was still his. He knew that there were many times throughout the years when she could have given up but, luckily for him she had decided to stick around and wait out the rough patches. He loved her more than anything and was gald they could now finally start to live a close to normal life together, what they had both been wanting for many years.

"Are you finished?" he asked her.

"Umm, yes I think so," she said looking around to check she hadn't forgotten anything.

"Well, let's go then," he said urging her towards him. She finally was satisfied that she could leave and went to join Booth before he left without her. As they began walking out of the lab she moved closer to him and grabbed his hand with hers, he looked down and smiled interweaving their fingers. They walked out hand in hand as close as humanly possible and began to tell each other stories from the past month.


End file.
